Teen Titans Gender Swap
by The Indigo Raven2002
Summary: This is the Teen Titans episodes genderswapped. Not with every character genderswapped, but close enough
1. Divide & Conquer

It's evening in Jump City and a rock monster is busting into jail. The guards shoot at him, but the bullets bounce off his back. Not this city's average Tuesday. He is just about to break a wall when there is a voice behind him.

"Usually, Cinderblock, villains break _out_ of jail," a female voice said. "Yeah," said another, "and I can think of five good reasons why you don't wanna break _in_." One by one, a group of teens come out of the shadows.

"One." A girl who had long black hair drawn back in a ponytail, cream colored skin, masked eyes, and was dressed in traffic light clothing jumped from the shadows. She is Robyn, the Girl Wonder and the leader of the Teen Titans.

"Two." A boy with red hair that reaches just above his shoulders, orange skin and green eyes swoops from the sky and lands gracefully next to Robyn. His name is Starblaze, and he is from the planet of Tamaran.

"Three." Another girl with green eyes, green hair, and green skin emerged from the shadows and walked on the other side of Robyn. She changes from a tiger humanoid to a regular human. She is Beast Girl, former member of the Doom Patrol and a survivor of Sakutia.

"Four." Another boy who was wearing a cloak over his black body suit and pale skin, and a hood over his violet hair floated out of the shadows and stood by Beast Girl. He looked like the shadows himself. His name is Revan, he is a demon spawn and the son of Trigon.

"Five." A third girl with dark chocolate skin, no hair, and robotics covering half her body walked from the shadows and stood next to Starblaze. She is muscular for a girl her age. Her name is Cyber, and she was in a life-changing accident that cost her half her human side.

The Titans stand ready for battle. "No matter how you do the math," Robyn said, "it all adds up to you going down. So, are you going to go quietly..."

"Or is this going to get loud?" Cyber finished. Cinderblock responds with a roar and throws barrels at them, which the Titans dodged. "Titans, GO!" Robyn yells the battle cry. The Titans charge at the rock monster. Beast Girl changes into a hawk to fly behind Revan and Starblaze.

Robyn jumps behind Cinderblock and lands a solid kick to his back. Cinderblock staggers a bit before regaining his posture. He turns around to see Starblaze shooting a barrage of star-bolts at his back. Cyber then delivers a right hook, but Cinderblock doesn't care.

Beast Girl then dives in and rakes her talons in the rock monster's back, making him stagger back to the corner. Revan takes this opportunity to levitate a section of the floor up, causing Cinderblock to crash into it. He flies away to make room for Robyn, Starblaze, and Cyber.

Before they could land an attack, however, the rock monster delivers a giant backhand, sending Robyn and Cyber flying backwards. This action didn't affect Starblaze, though. He throws star-bolt after star-bolt at Cinderblock, who grabs the Tameranean in his rocky clutches and pulls him towards his head so they now are face-to-face with each other. A smile crosses over Starblaze's face.

"I am sorry to disappoint you," he said, "but I am stronger than I look." He proves this fact by breaking Cinderblock's hold on him and high kicks the rock monster, sending him flying into the wall. A cry from the Beast Girl-hawk is heard as she swoops in once again; in an instant, she has hit the ground and transformed herself into a tyrannosaurs rex.

Cinderblock stands pat before her thundering charge and knocks her back with a single left hook. Revan then appears from the shadows. "Azarath, Metrion,-" Revan starts but is then cut off with a sharp, shocked gasp as he discovers Beast Girl's shadow falling over him. He looks up and sees Beast Girl falling from the sky. Beast Girl screams as she changes back to a human and lands on Revan. She gets up from the floor. She shakes her head to clear it.

Revan gets up after her, some hair falling into his face. "Heh, um, watch out for falling dinosaurs?" Beast Girl says sheepishly. Revan gave her a hard glance and blew the hair out of his face. "I'm gonna leave you alone now." She bugs out.

Cinderblock chuckles to himself. He starts to cross the area, but Robyn jumps on his neck and tries to put him in a headlock. Stumbling about at random, the stone behemoth tears a girder loose from the wall. As a result, a chunk of concrete from the floor goes with it.

"Thrashing only makes me hold tighter," the Girl Wonder shouted. Cinderblock raises the girder and swings at Robyn, but misses when the girl jumps away just in time; he clocks himself in the head instead. "Now there's an idea," Cyber says, looking at another girder. The cybernetic teen then rips it free and charges at the rock monster. Cinderblock and Cyber then engage in a makeshift sword fight, hitting their girders together. Cyber steadily gains ground on the enemy.

They struggle at close quarters. Cinderblock pushes Cyber back in preparation for a mighty swing. It connects, sending the cybernetic Titan and her girder skidding across the floor. Starblaze floats down from above; Cinderblock gets ready to let him have it, but the quick flash of a star-bolt causes the steel to heat and soften in the stone behemoth's hands. He grunts in surprise, and Starblaze laughs as Revan looks on.

Cinderblock grunts again and runs off down the corridor, heading deeper into the prison. Cyber is still flat on her back, but gets back up with a helping hand from Robyn and dusts herself off. "Want to give this guy the Sonic Boom?" Robyn asks. Cyber smiles and converts her arm into a sonic cannon. "I got the Sonic if you got the Boom." Robyn smirks.

Their three teammates regroup and look down the corridor. Meanwhile, Robyn and Cyber catch up to Cinderblock. "Yo, Rockhead!" Cyber yells, catching the rock monster's attention. Robyn and Cyber run at him. They peel off to opposite sides to run up the wall, then jump toward each other as the cannon warms up. Whatever they had planned to do goes badly wrong, however, as their feet get tangled up and they are left spinning out of control in midair.

Finally, they fly apart and Cyber crashes into the wall. Her cannon goes off, producing a blast of sound that engulfs Starlaze and Beast Girl. Robyn slams against the opposite wall; a disc in her hand slides away and detonates at Revan's feet.

Cinderblock is completely unscathed by the fireworks and clumps away, smashing straight through one wall after another in his path. Prisoners step out to look after the lumbering rock colossus, then start to sprint out the same way he came in, all the while shouting out their freedom.

"Hey, hey, look at this! Freedom." "Let's do it!" "Let's get out of here!" "Yeah!"

Robyn is the first one on her feet, rubbing her aching head. The commotion reaches her from around the corner, and soon a throng of escaping prisoners is coming straight at her. She whips out her fighting staff and extends it to its full length, and her, Revan, Beast Girl, and Starblaze get ready to battle. As the latter are caught by surprise, the former let them have it. Beast Girl resumes her T-Rex form to scare the living bejesus out of them.

Somewhere in the prison, there's a cell door. On the door is a sign that reads 'Prisoner 385901- Absolute Silence'. Cinderblock's shadow falls over the sign. Inside the cell is a large, cylinder glass tank of liquid that is suspended from the ceiling. Inside the tank is a man with a bald hair and only underwear on. He is asleep and snoring. Cinderblock tears the tank from its cord. Gases and liquid spew from hoses in the ceiling. He punches a hole in the wall and escapes.

Meanwhile, just outside the prison walls, two prisoners run out in a bid for freedom. "Let's go, let's go," the first prisoner says. "I think we're gonna make it," his friend replies. "Yeah," the first prisoner says again. They run for the open exit, but their escape route is blocked when the pieces fly back into the frame, closing it shut.

"Huh?" They both say in confusion. Suddenly, Revan appears through the newly repaired gate. "Think again," he said.

Soon, all the prisoners are returned to their cells under the guards' watch. The Titans watch in silence. Beast Girl, who is now a gorilla, changes back to a human. "Jailbreak?" She asked, breaking the silence. "I don't see any jailbreak." Robyn angrily turns to Cyber. "None of us would've seen one if Cyber hadn't messed up!" She yelled, turning her head.

"Me?" Cyber yelled, blowing back Robyn's cape. "I messed up nothing! You got in my way!" She, too, turned her head. Robyn turned back. "You were too far forward," she argued, "and Cinderblock got away because of it!" An angry little spark appeared on her head at the end of this, and then blinks away. The girls continued to argue. Starblaze pushed them apart.

"Stop," he said sternly. "No more mean talking." The girls turn their backs on him and each other. "Yeah," Beast Girl said. "If you two are gonna fight, we need time to sell tickets." She backs off as Revan steps up. "Cinderblock escaped," he said flatly, "no amount of yelling will change that. Now, stop acting like idiots, and let's go home."

Both girls gave each other a disdainful glance from over their shoulders. "Hmph." They stride away from each other, leaving the others nonplussed. "Loser," Robyn said softly. "Jerk," Cyber said with equal softness. They whirled on each other. "What did you say?!"

"Do you have a problem, Tin Girl?" Robyn asked snarkily. "Yes, I do," Cyber said. "It's four feet tall and smells like cheap shampoo!" The others are scared by their outbursts. "Well, you're an oversized klutz and your feet smell like motor oil!" Robyn counters; the sound of an infant crying is heard from the other Titans.

"Well," Cyber said, listing things off her fingers, "you're bossy, you're rude, you have no taste in music." Robyn was basically steaming. "I don't even know why you're on this team!" She yelled. "Well, that makes two of us," Cyber said. "I QUIT!" This shocked the other four Titans, especially Robyn. She hadn't meant for that to happen.

Cyber walked off; the Titans looked at Robyn, and Robyn looked at her boots.

Somewhere else in Jump City, there is a building made entirely of machine. There is a big, black chair atop a raised platform. In the chair sits a shadowed figure. No features are shown because the body is fully covered by armor. In the harsh glare, the right side of the head and shoulder show a gray tint, while the other side appeared red-orange.

Cinderblock stepped into the light. He was carrying the tank containing 385901. "Cinderblock," the figure said, "I see your mission was a success. Good. We will proceed with Phase Two. Wake him." The stone behemoth strains at the metal cap on the top of the container and manages to unscrew it. The occupant begins to stir.

"I'm...awake?" The man said, startled. "I shouldn't be awake! I'm only human when I'm sleeping!" The dark figure spoke again. "But for what I have in mind, your human form is useless. I need...Plasmus." As the figure said this, the man's form began to swell and distort within the tank, causing the glass to bulge and finally shatter. He then turns into Plasmus, a purple slime creature with a wide mouth and two tiny yellowish eyes. He lets out a huge roar.

The next day, the Titans were still affected by the loss of their teammate. Beast Girl tries calling Cyber, but it went to answering machine. "This is Cyber. I'm either in the gym, playing Gamestation, or kicking bad guy butt. Leave a message." The answering machine beeps.

Starblaze is at the kitchen counter mixing something in a bowl, Revan is looking at a bank of monitors, and Beast Girl paces with a cell phone in her hand. Robyn stands at the window. "Hello? Cy? Pick up! Come on, pick up! I know you're there. The phone's built into your arm!"

Revan reaches up to press a key on the monitors. Beast Girl hangs up disgustedly. Starblaze floats over to Beast Girl, holding a spoon and a bowl with some unknown goop in it. The spoon also has the goop on it. He holds the spoon out to Beast Girl. "Taste," he commands. He shoves it in her mouth without warning, sending Beast Girl into convulsions, ending up with her on all fours and trying not to throw up. Finally, she spits out the mess and scrubs frantically at her tongue, trying to get rid of the taste.

"What is that?" Beast Girl asked. "Cream of toenails?" Starblaze shakes his head. "Pudding of Sadness," he says, taking a spoonful. "The people on my planet eat it when bad things happen." He tries the spoonful, then shudders.

He floats over to Revan, who continues to check the monitors. "Try," he said to Revan, "the displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind." Revan turned to him. "My mind is never troubled," he said. "People come, people go. It's pointless to be upset about Cyber." His hair flies up and the monitor screens crack, indicating that he is, indeed, upset over Cyber's absence. He doesn't notice this, however, as he was looking at Starblaze's wide eyes. "What?"

Robyn stares morosely out over Jump City as Starblaze flies over to her with his horrid concoction. He holds the bowl out to her. "Here, Robyn," Starblaze says. "You must need this most of all since...well..." He trails off, but Robyn gets what he is trying to say. "I'm fine," Robyn said. She turns and walks away. "Who knows, maybe we're better off without her."

Robyn was in the gym punching a punching bag with great vigor. She delivers a final roundhouse kick and slumps over, winded. She looks up to see her and Cyber's weight benches-the latter equipped with the sorts of giant barbells only that Titan could lift.

In the kitchen, Beast Girl hoists a stack of dirty dishes onto the counter. Other dishes are piled up in the sink. "Ugh," she groaned. "Whose turn is it to do dishes?"

"Cyber." Beast Girl cried out in surprise. Robyn begins washing dishes. Later, she was on the couch playing Gamestation. "Come on, come on... I'm not scared to take...no! Yeah! Got it! Just one more and...yes!" She has beaten Cyber's high score. However, the Titan is no longer around to be elated by her achievement.

Robyn walks to the door of Cyber's room. Bookcases with pictures and a baseball on top, computer desk with a football by the monitor, and trophy case in the corner. Robyn then pulls a picture from the bookcase. It is of the pair, laughing and having a good time. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, the alarm went off. Beast Girl, Starblaze, and Revan were in the operations center, looking at the screen map with surprise. Robyn sprinted in and turned to Beast Girl. "Cinderblock strikes again?" She asked. Beast Girl looked at her solemnly. "You wish."

Plasmus was in a factory, drinking barrels of toxic waste and growing a few feet taller. The third barrel was hit by a star-bolt. All the toxic waste poured out the back. Plasmus looked through the barrel at the Titans standing in the broken wall. "That stuff can't be good for you," Robyn said. Plasmus throws the barrel aside and belches. "Nice one!" Beast Girl exclaimed.

Plasmus roared and shot gobs of sludge from his body at the four heroes, who dodged them. Robyn jumps and flips like crazy, just barely staying ahead of the barrage, and lands on a crate near a mixing tank. "Star," she yelled, "let him have it!" The aforementioned Titan then shoots a star-bolt at the ooze monster's stomach, blasting a hole through it.

Starblaze gasped. "Maybe," he said sheepishly, "I let him have too much?" Plasmus sucked in some air and the hole filled. "I'm thinking 'not enough'," Beast Girl said. Plasmus balled his hand into a fist and extends his arm towards Starblaze, who shrieked as Revan pushed him out of the way.

Robyn pulled a disk from her belt. "Maybe he just needs to chill!" She threw the disk at Plasmus' arm; it froze his arm on impact. The owner of said arm looks at it in surprise, then shatters it against an overhead pipe. Robyn jumped for cover, while Beast Girl turns into a pterodactyl and lifts off. Starblaze fires more star-bolts from above, driving Plasmus back a bit, and Beast Girl executes several punching strikes with her talons.

The foe blocks these and retaliates by lashing out with many thick tentacles from the stump of his missing arm. Both Titans cut and run to stay out of the mess. Starblaze throws shots every which way to fend off the attack as Beast Girl does a few evasive maneuvers. Revan rose into the air.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Revan levitates several barrels and launches them at Plasmus; they strike him in the chest, end first, and stick there. His arm now regrown, he gathers his strength, and sends them right back, forcing Revan to dive for cover. Robyn leaps in for a flying kick only to get that leg stuck in the mire, followed by her other leg and one hand when she tries more blows. She struggles to get loose.

"Come on," Robyn yelled, "let me go, you giant zit!" Plasmus only snarls and roars down at her before sending forth a huge jet of slime that carries her screaming along with it. The purple tide washes over Beast Girl, who is back to human form, as well. Dripping with it, Robyn groans and gets up as Starblaze rushes over.

"Robyn!" Starblaze cried. "I'm okay," Robyn said. "Sort of." She spits out some wads of slime. Beast Girl, meanwhile, has made if partway to her feet; her eyes were watering profusely. "And I thought Star's pudding tasted bad!" Beast Girl exclaimed.

A fresh howl from Plasmus' direction refocuses the attention of all four Titans in a hurry. Cut to a fuzzy image of him that flickers as the camera pulls back a bit to show this as a giant monitor, with two silhouettes standing before it. One of them is the muscular armored figure; the other is a shorter individual who is bald wearing a white suit and tie, and a black shirt.

"Disappointing," the figure said. Cinderblock steps into the light. "With one Titan missing, this is almost too easy. I was expecting a bit more of a challenge. Cinderblock. Prepare Phase Three." Cinderblock grunted and stomped away.

A gush of Plasmus' muck splatters down from above, and Starblaze stands up within it and groans. "I feel like the underside of a Zornian muck beetle," he said. Revan get up next to him. "Tell me about it." Meanwhile, Beast Girl was running from Plasmus. "Dude," she exclaimed, "I am not on the menu!" Robyn's birdarang sails into view trailing a long line behind it. The grappling hook flies around Plasmus' legs to wrap them up; Robyn is quick to arrive as well. She grabs the free end of the line and takes a few more turns around the giant.

"Maybe the best way to take you down," Robyn said, pulling hard on the cord, "is to tie you up!" Beast Girl, now a rhinoceros, charges and scores a direct hit that sends Plasmus toppling backward to fall among a group of support columns. Starblaze bends one over to pin him down, and Revan does likewise with others. He struggles against these bonds as the four inspect the handiwork; Beast Girl is back in human form.

"We did it!" Starblaze exclaimed. "Nice work, team," Robyn said proudly. "Yeah," Beast Girl said. "Didn't think we'd pull it off without-" Revan cuts her off with a sock to the shoulder. Beast Girl lets out a surprised little sheep-like bleat, then laughs and sweats nervously. Robyn checks a locator device briefly before tucking it away in her belt.

"We finished just in time," she said, turning to her team. "Cinderblock has been spotted downtown. Come on!" The four Titans turn to leave, but a loud gurgling sound from Plasmus' direction stops Beast Girl. She turns back. "Huh?"

Plasmus starts to ooze out of his trap. His entire body flows together and free of the restraints, then shapes itself into a gigantic crab-like thing with one claw, an octopus-like appendage, and a snaky rear limb. "Uh," Beast Girl said, "heads up."

Now having formed a second crab claw, Plasmus rushes at the foursome; they burst out through a set of double doors. As they make it through and slam the doors shut just in time, leaning against them with all their weight, they heard Plasmus' snarling and pounding from the other side. "Five against four," Beast Girl said. "Not good odds."

"Forget the odds," Robyn said. "We need a plan." The doors tremble even more violently under Plasmus' assault, and he finally forces them partway open and pushes a tendril, then another. Starblaze screams as the opening grows wider and the head appears.

"Titans! Separate!" Robyn yelled. The doors are finally smashed open. Robyn, Starblaze, and Beast Girl go in three different directions among the machinery; the latter turning into a cheetah as she runs. Plasmus' snake, separated from the rest of the body, chases Starblaze; he turns in midair and bombards it with star-bolts, but it lunges and catches him to drag him from the air. Beast Girl sprints along the floor, with one of the crab claws in hot pursuit. It opens wide and lashes out a long tongue that snares her. She breaks loose by turning into a gorilla, but is knocked off her feet by a flying tackle.

Revan, meanwhile, flies along as the octopus chases on the ground. He exerts his powers over all the machinery here, causing the bolts and screws to fall out, and the loosened vessels topple into the aisle one after another. The octopus swerves and slides to miss several of them, but is finally hit broadside. He looks back smugly only to find that it has recovered and placed itself directly in front of him; there is only time for one shocked gasp before it rears up to strike.

The only Titan left is Robyn, who keeps going full steam among the other process equipment; the other crab claw is after her and not letting up. She reaches a set of double doors, and she hurls herself through a darkened area and into space. Lurid green light rises from the direction of the floor. Something breaks her fall, and she finds herself carried along on a moving conveyor belt above several large vats of glowing chemicals.

The crab claw lands behind her and pulls back to strike. Robyn has her staff out in a snap and delivers several blows that merely splatter through the purple goo. The end of her staff is caught and broken off, but she simply extends the other end to make up for the lost length and swings again. This time, her weapon is not only blocked but dashed from her hands to go spiraling over the vats. Going into classic kung fu mode, Robyn backs up a few steps and lunges for a high kick.

Meanwhile, Starblaze is still held fast by Plasmus' snake portion. As he struggles, it wraps a coil around his head and squeezes itself together into a large ball. He bursts out of it after a moment and sees the main body perched on top of an equipment cabinet, lying in wait. Beast Girl, who is back in human form and Revan are still in the grasp of their respective captor body parts, and the snake reforms at the feet of one very frightened Tamaranean teenager. He recoils at its strike.

Robyn steadily backs up before the opponent's advance, and it soon throws itself on top of her to pin her to the belt's surface. The Girl Wonder struggles mightily as both are swept toward the free end, which hangs over a bubbling vat. She goes partway over, then smiles wickedly**(1) **and flips the claw backward off the precipice; however, she miscalculates and has to grab the corner of the belt to keep from going down with it. The housing starts to pull loose; the claw has seized one boot and is pulling with all its strength. Robyn strains with all the power she can put into her one-handed grip, but the conveyor has had all it can take. Her fingers slide away from the ripping material to leave her plummeting toward the last bath she will ever take.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a familiar bionic arm reaches out and grabs Robyn's wrist. The sludgy apparition is dissolving harmlessly in the vat. On the conveyor, Robyn has been hoisted up by Cyber, who stands behind her, and tries desperately to catch her breath. "I still got the Sonic if you still got the Boom," Cyber said smiling. Robyn returns the smile-their feud has ended.

In the factory, Plasmus' other four body parts have reassembled themselves and the other three are nowhere to be seen. He laughs nastily, but stops short when Robyn and Cyber square off against him. "Teen Titans! Go!" Both girls yelled in unison.

They go into the same sequence of moves they used while trying to stop Cinderblock. This time, however, they do not get tangled up in midair, and Robyn hurls an explosive disc while Cyber fires her cannon**(2)**. The combined effect of the two weapons is enough to blow Plasmus apart into small puddles of gunk; 385901 is dozing among the slop and snoring fitfully.

Beast Girl and Revan, sitting up in of the remains of their captors, and Starblaze, who has already done likewise, are engulfed by the slime. Robyn and Cyber look down at the frail man who has just inflicted so much damage on the factory.

Outside, they watch as he is loaded onto a truck for the return trip to prison in a new tank. "Look, uh," Robyn said, "sorry about..." She trails off. "Yeah," Cyber replied. "So...are we cool?" Robyn asks. Cyber holds out her fist and smiles. "Frosty." Robyn smiles back as they tap fists.

"You made up!" Starblaze exclaims. "Glorious! I wish to initiate a group hug." He holds out his arms. "Pass," Revan says. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around," Beast Girl said. "But we still gotta stop Cinderblock."

"No, we don't," Cyber says from behind them. They turn to her and Robyn. "Thought I'd bring a present, 'case you were still mad." She gestures behind herself, and in response Cinderblock is hoisted up on a winch-with the equipment he had been carrying in the armored figure's lair wrapped around his body to bind him. The stone villain grumbles angrily.

"Thanks," Robyn said. "But there is one thing that's still bothering me." Revan, Beast Girl, and Starblaze first react with surprise, then go wide-eyed in disbelief that anything could be bothering their leader at this point, given the events of the past few hours.

"Breaking into jail? Using Plasmus to distract us? The whole plan seems to be a little too smart for Cinderblock," Robyn continued. "I've been thinking the same thing," Cyber said. The others are relieved; Beast Girl and Starblaze sigh visibly.

"Someone must have been pulling the strings," Robyn went on. "But who?" She asked. "Well, whoever they are," Cyber says, "they're no match for the Teen Titans." She and Robyn trade a high five. "I heard that!" Robyn agrees.

Back to the figure. He has a teacup and a saucer on a table. He slammed his fist down, breaking the cup and plate. A pair of white-gloved hands reach down with a small broom and dustpan to sweep up the pieces. It is the mysterious figure's butler. He has a fresh cup, which he sets before the figure.

"Next time my plans will succeed," the figure says to no one in particular. "And the Titans will pay."

* * *

**A/N: That was a good chapter, don't you think? 100 points to whoever can figure out who the mysterious figure is first.**

**(1): That smile makes me uncomfortable. 0_0**

**(2): This scene reminds me of the Teen Titans Go episode, Power Moves.**


	2. Brothers

It was an ordinary evening in Jump City. The Teen Titans were attending a fair. Robyn and Starblaze were on top of the Ferris Wheel watching fireworks. "Beautiful," Starblaze breathed. He turned to Robyn. "Tell me again what they are called," he said.

"Fireworks," Robyn replied simply. More fireworks go off. Starblaze sits back in his seat. "On my planet, such explosions would mean the Gordanians were attacking," he said. "Are you certain Earth is not under attack?" He asked Robyn. "Positive," she answered. "Cotton candy," she said, offering the alien some. "The last time I ate something made of cotton," said Starblaze, "it was white, and it did not taste very-"

"This is different," the Girl Wonder said, taking a piece and tossing it into her mouth. Starblaze smiled and took a small piece. He put it in his mouth. "Mmm," he said. Then he gasped. "It vanished," Starblaze said in surprise. "Yeah," Robyn said with a laugh. "It'll do that."

Starblaze sighed happily. "When I first came to this planet," he said, "I did not think I would ever fit in. Earth is full of strange things." Fireworks went off in front of them. "But now I see there are-". He was cut off by the many fireworks going off.

"Yeah," Robyn cheered, "here comes the finale!" Numerous fireworks went off. Robyn cheered. "Amazing," Robyn breathed. Starblaze's eyes sparkled as he looked at Robyn. "Earth is full of amazing things, too," he whispered**(1)**. "Best planet _I've_ ever been to," Robyn agreed.

Suddenly, a purple squid-like machine flew by and grabbed Starblaze. The alien screamed. "Starblaze!" Robyn yelled. The aforementioned Titan was struggling to get loose, but to no success. "Wherever you are taking me," he said, eyes glowing, "I do not wish to go!" His hands were glowing as he shot a star-bolt at his captor.

Electricity ran through the machine, and Starblaze got free. He flew away, and the machine followed closely behind. Meanwhile, the other three Titans were playing ring toss. Beast Girl threw a ring and it landed on a bottle. Beast Girl and Cyber smiled at each other. "Booyah!" Cyber exclaimed. Beast Girl received a giant chicken. She presented it to Revan.

"Told you I would win you a prize," the green teen said to the cloaked demon, who took it with uninterest. "Wow, a giant chicken," he said sarcastically. "I must be the luckiest boy in the world." Suddenly, Robyn appeared beside them. "Titans, trouble," she said. "Where's Starblaze?" Cyber asked.

"That's the trouble," the Girl Wonder said before running off. Revan dropped the chicken as the three Titans ran after their leader.

They ran to the end of the dock to see Starblaze being chased by the squid machine. Said alien looked over his shoulder and gasped. The machine lunged an arm at the Tamaranean; he dodged it. Starblaze shot another star-bolt at the machine; it bounced off. He shot another one, but that, too, bounced off. "No more chasing now, please," Starblaze yelled as he increased his speed. The probe did, too.

Starblaze flew past the Titans with the squid probe on his tail. "Who's his new best friend?" Beast Girl asked. "Don't know," Robyn said, punching her hands together, "but I can't wait to meet him."

Starblaze and the probe flew around the Ferris Wheel. Starblaze flew in between the Titans and stopped next to Robyn. Beast Girl turned into an alligator and tried to bite the probe; it flew out of her reach. Revan levitated a hot dog cart and threw it at the probe, but it dodged the obstacle. The probe flew by Cyber, who grabbed it by its tentacles.

"Don't know what you did to make this thing mad, Star," she said, "but it couldn't hurt to apologize!" Starblaze was genuinely confused. "I am sorry," he said with question in his voice. The squid machine shot out of Cyber's hands.

Robyn whipped out her bo staff and charged at the machine. She hit it straight on the top. It fell into the ocean. Robyn put the staff back into her belt. Beast Girl looked over the side. "Does anyone know where it went?" She asked.

Suddenly, the probe burst threw the dock and flew at the Titans. Robyn jumped on it and looked it over. "Hmm," she said, "don't see an off switch. Guess I'll just have to make one." She broke into it and pulled out some wires. Robyn jumped off. The squid probe started wobbling as it flew into the air and exploded with the fireworks.

Robyn turned to Starblaze. "Whatever that thing was," she said, "it can't hurt you now." Starblaze was confused. "But, why did it wish to hurt me at all?" Starblaze asked.

The Titans returned to their Tower. "Come friends," Starblaze said. "I will thank you for my rescue by reciting the Poems of Gratitude. All 6,000 verses." The rest of the Titans were shocked. "I see you haven't changed a bit." Starblaze looked over his shoulder to see a boy with purple armor and purple-tinted black hair sitting on the back of the couch. He got up. "When we were little, I was always rescuing Starblaze."

The mysterious boy opened his arms as Starblaze ran up to hug him. "Brother!" Starblaze exclaimed. The black-haired boy held up a green jewel on a string. "Brought you a present," he said. Starblaze gasped. "A Centauri moon gem?!" He exclaimed. "Where did you get-"

"From the Centauri moons, of course," the boy said, cutting Starblaze off. He put on the redhead. "Oh look, it matches your eyes!" Starblaze smiled happily. "You must meet my friends," he said, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him along. "Friends, this is my big brother," Starblaze said. The raven haired boy walked in front of him. "Darkblaze," he said. "And since Starblaze has told me all about the Titans and his transmissions, let me guess."

Darkblaze walked in front of the cybernetic teen. "Cyber," he said. "Please to meet you, little dude," she said, holding out her hand. Darkblaze shook it. Cyber brought up her crushed hand. "Little dude, big handshake," she said. "Well, alright."

Darkblaze turned to Revan. "Revan," he said. "I like that gemstone on your Ishma chakra." Revan smiled shyly. "You know about chakras?" He asked. "I got way into meditation on Altirai Prime," Darkblaze said, walking over to Beast Girl. "Beast Girl! What's up?" Beast Girl smiled.

"Nothing but the ceiling, dude," she said. Darkblaze chuckled. "Good one," he said with a laugh. "See," Beast Girl said to Revan. "He thinks I'm funny." Revan didn't look at her. "Statistically," he said, "I suppose someone has to." Beast Girl deflated.

"And you must be Robyn," Darkblaze said to the Girl Wonder. He jumped behind her and held up the girl's cape. "I am just loving this cape," he exclaimed. "It's positively luscious!" Robyn smiled. "Thanks," she said. "It's a high density polyester titanium. Ten times stronger then steel."

"Fascinating," said Darkblaze, smiling wide. Starblaze gasped. "And this mask makes you look very, mysterious," Darkblaze continued. Starblaze appeared between them. "So, beloved brother," he said, "what brings you to Earth?"

"I was in a quadrant," Darkblaze said, walking towards the couch. "Thought I'd see if Earthlings liked to party." He jumped on the couch. "Besides," he said, "I needed a rest. Nearly got sucked into a black hole on the way here." The three girl Titans looked at each other before rushing over to the couch.

"Black hole?" Robyn asked. "No way," Cyber said. "Cool!" Beast Girl exclaimed. Darkblaze begins to tell his tale. "Ok, so I'm cruising through the Draconous Nebula when-"

"Brother," Starblaze exclaimed, "that nebula are full of black holes! You know travel there is forbidden." Darkblaze, Robyn, Cyber, and Beast Girl all look at him. "Most fun things are," his brother says. "Now, be a dear and bring me one of those 'sodas' I've heard so much about." The four teens turn back.

"So anyway," Darkblaze continues as Starblaze walks away. "I'm zooming over an Aventuri approaching lightspeed when all of a sudden..."

Starblaze heads to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. "I see you have not changed either," he said to no one in particular as he grabbed a soda and closed the fridge.

Meanwhile, in space, blue streaks flew into a spaceship. The blue streaks turned out to be more squid pods. Three pods inserted themselves into some tubes, but the fourth one was empty. "Our target was not located," a voice said. "The drones have failed."

"Have they?" Asked another voice. A hand pressed a button. A diagram of Earth appeared. "The pod that went to Earth did not return," the second voice said. "That is where we will find the girl."

The next day, Starblaze was looking for his brother. "Brother?" He called. "Brother!?" Starblaze looked around. "Brother, I seek your companionship."

In the living room, Cyber and Beast Girl were playing video games. "You wanna pass me," Cyber said, "but you cain't pass me. You cain't pass-you passed me." Beast Girl's face was smug. "Tighten the turn, dip, and nitro!" She exclaimed as she did a victory twirl and jumped back onto the couch.

Starblaze walked up to the couch. "Tell me," he said, "have either of you seen Darkblaze?" Neither Beast Girl nor Cyber took their eyes off the game. "Blazin' Bee?" Beast Girl asked. "He was here just a second ago." Suddenly, Cyber's car took the lead. Beast Girl scowled. "What fun," Starblaze said clapping. "May I join your game?"

"Sorry," Cyber said. "Winner plays Darkblaze." Beast Girl practically had hearts coming out of her head at the mention of the black haired boy. "Yeah," she agreed. "He rules at this game."

"I see," Starblaze said sadly. He walked to Revan's room and knocked on the door. It opened just a crack, and Revan looked through. "Have you seen Darkblaze?"

"No," said Revan, closing the door. "Well, perhaps we could go to your favorite dark cafe," Starblaze suggested. "Already went with Darkblaze. Your brother's poems are very dark," Revan said, closing the door all the way. She walked to the gym. In the doorway, Darkblaze was talking to Robyn. "Like this," he said to the girl, pulling her closer to him**(2)**. "That's perfect Robyn." Starblaze gasped. "Just like that and, _hiya_!" Darkblaze then threw the Girl Wonder into the weight stack, breaking it.

"Learned that move from a Venzo master on Ataurus 3," he said to Robyn. "Robyn, and my sister," Starblaze said, "am I interrupting?"

"Not at all," Robyn said. "Darkblaze was just showing me some alien martial arts. How come you never showed me these cool moves?" Starblaze looked down until Darkblaze spoke.

"Probably because he doesn't know them. I always was the better fighter," he said smugly to Robyn before pulling her along. "Come on, I'll show you the technique I used to a rampaging Orthax."

Starblaze looked down again. Later that day, Starblaze walked into the room with movies and popcorn. "Friends," he said. "I invite you to partake in a stay home movie night. I bring you popcorn and non-cotton candies. Tell me, which sort of movie shall we view?"

"Action," Robyn said.

"Comedy," Beast Girl said.

"Sci-fi," Cyber said.

"Horror," Revan said.

Starblaze deflated. "Perhaps a double feature," he suggested. "Forget the flicks, kids," said Darkblaze. He was wearing the same attire as Starblaze. "We're going out!"

"We are?" Starblaze asked. He pointed to Darkblaze's outfit. "Where did you... Are those mine?" He asked. "Heard about a party downtown," Darkblaze said. "Cool crowd, hot music."

"Yeah," said Beast Girl.

"I'm in," said Cyber.

"Why not," said Robyn.

"And it's in a creepy rundown warehouse," Darkblaze added, catching Revan's attention. The rest of the Titans cheered. "Hey, dude, raided your closet," said Darkblaze. "Hope you don't mind me borrowing your look."**(3)**

"Why not," Starblaze said, "you have already borrowed my friends."

Later in the evening, Darkblaze and the Titans were attending the party. "Step aside Earthlings," said Darkblaze, pushing his way through the crowd. "The King of the galaxy has arrived!" Meanwhile, Starblaze was having trouble getting through the crowd. Someone had stepped on his foot. "Ow," he groaned. "You really should apologize after you step on somebody's foot!"

Darkblaze was dancing with the crowd. "Now, don't tell me you big tough super teens are afraid of a little dancing," he said to the female Titans. "Betcha Cyber can do the robot," Beast Girl joked. She started doing the robot, but stopped as soon as she saw the cybernetic teen giving her the stink eye.

Darkblaze continued dancing, and the girl Titans joined in**(4)**. Revan and Starblaze were standing in the crowd watching them. "This party is pointless," said Revan. A goth girl walked next to him. "Everything's pointless," she said. "Wanna go talk about it?" Revan shrugged and they both walked away, leaving Starblaze alone.

A girl walked over to him. "Hey hot stuff," she said, "you diggin' the scene?" Starblaze blushed. "I did not know we were supposed to bring shovels." Everyone started laughing at him.

Meanwhile, in space, a space ship was approaching Earth. "The girl may have defeated one probe," said the first voice, "but she will not fare so well against three." The three probes in tubes shot out and flew to Earth.

Starblaze sat on the edge of the party building. He sighed. "Perhaps I do not belong here after all." The door opened behind him. "Of course you don't," Robyn's voice said. Starblaze turned to her in surprise. "You belong down there having fun with the rest of us," Robyn continued. She closed the door and walked toward him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing is wrong," Starblaze said quickly, "everything is wonderful. The pounding music and blinding lights are quite enjoyable." He looked down sadly before continuing. "Everything is not wonderful," he said. "I am happy to see him, but Darkblaze rules the video games, and he can share depressing poems, and he knows the cool moves, and he knows when people are not talking about shovels(at this Robyn made the impression that she was raising her eyebrow under her mask), and," Starblaze took a breath, "I am nothing like him."

Robyn put her hand on Starblaze's shoulder. "No, you're not," she said, "and I think-". Darkblaze opened the sky panel, wearing a wig that made him look exactly like Starblaze**(5)**. "How do I look?" He asked. "Pink," Robyn replied. "Look, can you give us a moment?"

Suddenly, the music changed. Darkblaze gasped. "I love this song," he said. He grabbed Robyn and took her back into the building. Starblaze sighed sadly. Just then, another squid probe appeared. Starblaze gasped.

Meanwhile, Cyber and Beast Girl were dancing. Beast Girl noticed Starblaze and the probe fighting outside the window. "Cy," she yelled, "Star's in trouble!" Cyber stopped dancing to look at her friend. Suddenly, another squid probe grabbed Beast Girl and dragged her outside. Cyber ran after her, but _another _probe appeared and tackled her.

"So, you like show tunes," the goth girl asked Revan. The probe pulling Beast Girl flew by them. The goth girl ran off, and Revan flew after the probe. He used his magic to throw two crates at the probe. The probe let go of Beast Girl and she fell.

The probe carrying Starblaze burst through the window and crashed into a crate. Cyber was punching her probe. Starblaze rose from the crate and threw a star-blast at his probe. It fell toward Beast Girl, who turned into a jaguar and clawed at it.

All three probes focused their attention back on Starblaze, and started chasing him. Cyber then started attacking all three of them. They start to fight back.

Robyn and Darkblaze are walking upstairs. "Where are you going? Stay here and talk to me," Darkblaze said. "I really need to make sure Starblaze is okay," Robyn replied.

Suddenly, Cyber crashed through the wall. Robyn ran up to her. "What's going on?" Cyber turned to face her. "Remember that thing that attacked Starblaze? It had friends." Cyber ran back into the battlefield. Robyn was about to go with her, but she saw that Darkblaze was just standing there. "Didn't you hear her? Your brother needs help!"

"Right, of course," Darkblaze said, pulling off his wig. The probes threw Starblaze through a wall; he fell into a dumpster. The probes then trapped him in it and carried him off. Starblaze screamed. A birdarang sliced off two of the probe's arms. The dumpster dropped.

"Teen Titans," yelled Cyber and Robyn, "go!" Darkblaze flew out and shot indigo eye beams at the probes. The probes broke instantly. The Titans congratulated him. "How did you know where to hit them?" Robyn asked.

"Lucky guess," Darkblaze said, shrugging his shoulders. "We could use luck like that," Cyber said. "Maybe you oughta join the team."

"Me? A Teen Titan?" Darkblaze said in mock surprise. Starblaze gasped. Back at Titans Tower, Starblaze is on the roof. He looks back, then slides on a backpack. "He will be a better Titan then I ever was," he whispered, referring to Darkblaze.

"Were you just going to leave without saying good bye," asked a voice from behind. Starblaze turned to see Robyn walking up to him. He grabbed his arms and sunk to the ground. "Robyn, I-" he was cut off by the sound of a spaceship. An alien shot a green tentacle from its hand, pushed Robyn aside, and grabbed Starblaze.

Robyn ran after him and tried to grab his foot, but fell. Starblaze screamed, but it was muffled. The alien put Starblaze in a tank. "Prepare to leave Earth orbit," said the first alien. "We have the Tamaranean boy."

"Once we get back to Centuari, you will pay for what you have done," said another. Starblaze continued to struggle. Unbeknownst to them all, Robyn was upside down on the bottom of the ship. "Nobody's taking him away," she whispered. She hopped onto the top of the ship. "My friend stays here," Robyn growled.

The second alien roared and charged towards the Girl Wonder. They engaged in hard battle. The alien blasted at her, but she dodged it. She punched the alien in the arm. Robyn dodged a green tentacle, which hit the ship's fuel wing. The ship started falling.

"I cannot control it," said the first alien. Robyn leapt over to Starblaze's capsule and deactivated it. She helps him out of his bonds. "Robyn," Starblaze exclaimed. "Come on," the aforementioned Titan said, grabbing Starblaze's hand. They jump from the ship before it crashes.

"Star! Robyn," Beast Girl calls from behind. They turn to see the rest of the Titans approaching them. "You guys ok," asked Cyber. The aliens got up from the crashed ship. The Titans got into battle stances. "Titans, get ready," Robyn whispered.

"In the name of the Grand Centuari Emperor," said the first alien, "you are all under arrest." The Titans were confused. "Um, you can't be the good guys," said Beast Girl. "We're the good guys."

"We are the Centuari police," the second alien said. "The Tamaranean boy is a liar and a thief," said the first alien, pointing at Starblaze. "He has committed high crimes throughout the entire Centuari system." Starblaze looked at Robyn. "I have never even been to the Centuari moons," he said.

"But I know someone who has," Robyn said, removing the medallion Darkblaze gave to Starblaze. He gasped. "You've been chasing the wrong boy," Robyn continued. She turned to Cyber. "Where's Darkblaze?" Beast Girl looks behind her and sees Darkblaze flying into space. "Uhhhhh," she said pointing.

"Don't worry Star," Robyn said, "he won't get away." Starblaze narrowed his eyes. "No, he will not," he said before flying after Darkblaze. "Hello brother," said Starblaze after catching up to Darkblaze. "Oh, you're mad," Darkblaze said, feigning innocence, "I know I should have told you I was leaving, but you know how I hate saying goodbyes and-"

"You are a criminal and you were going to let me take your place in jail," Starblaze said, cutting his brother off. "Well, yeah," Darkblaze said. "You will give back what you have stolen and turn yourself over to the police," Starblaze commanded.

"And what will you do if I don't," Darkblaze said as he blasted his brother with an indigo star-bolt. "I always was the better fighter." Starblaze flew up toward him. "Not anymore." Darkblaze starts a shower of indigo star-bolts; Starblaze flies through them and shoots his brother's right hand; Starblaze then rises over Darkblaze, who prepares to blast him. Suddenly, a green tentacle shot out and grabbed Darkblaze.

"Darkblaze of Tamaran," the Centauri Police said, "you are under arrest." Starblaze flew beside him. "Farewell, brother," he said. "Although you did attack and betray me, it was still very nice to see you." Darkblaze narrowed his eyes. "Next time, it won't be so nice," he said, "I will get out of jail, little brother, and I _will _get even."

Early in the morning, Starblaze was sitting on the roof. Robyn came and sat by him. "Hey," she said softly, "how are you doing?" Starblaze turned to her. "I am sad for my brother," he said. "And for yourself," Robyn asked. "I am just glad that the truth was discovered before I was replaced," Starblaze replied.

"What are you talking about," Robyn inquired. "Well you..." Starblaze trailed off before starting again. "Everyone was having such fun with her and then Cyber said..." He trailed off again. "Look," the Girl Wonder said, "your brother was interesting, but she could never take your place. _No one_ could ever take your place."

Starblaze smiled. They sat on the roof together, watching the sun rise.

**Okay, I think that was good. It might not be exactly right because the YouTube channel that I was using to find the video disappeared, so it took longer to update. If I forgot anything, tell me in the comments.**

**(1): I know you're not talking about the nature, Starblaze. Just tell her.**

**(2): When I first watched this ep, I was thinking the same thing that Star was thinking. And we all know what she was thinking. **

**(3): If I was Star, I would say this: "Girl, what happened to your clothes?"**

**(4): That's not dancing. It looked like they were having seizures or something.**

**(5): Um, excuse me, but they were having a moment. So wait.**


	3. Final Exam

On a screen, a screenful of static dissolved into a school crest. The field is hexagonal, black-and-white checkered within a gold border. A large H is superimposed on it in gold script; across the bottom is a white banner bearing the letters 'H. A. E. Y. P.' Behind the crest, a square corridor can be seen, with yellow walls, ceiling, and floor marked in a honeycomb pattern.

"The HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People is proud to introduce this year's top graduates," a female voice narrated as a platform rises in front of the crest, carrying three young individuals on it to block the crest. One is a very short girl with short hair in a jumpsuit; a pair of goggles is propped on her forehead, and assorted controls are mounted at chest and waist level. Behind her is a tall, muscular girl with collar length brown hair. Her sleeveless shirt and pants are black, and studded gold bands cross her chest and run around her shoulders. She also has studded gold wristbands. Off to the right of these two is a slim boy in a black tunic with blue edges, black-and-blue striped socks that reached below his knees, and black platform boots with blue soles. His lavender hair is bound into two large horn-like tufts that stick up above his ears, his cat-like eyes are the same color, and his skin is an odd shape of bluish-pink. A small pendant hangs from a black ribbon that encircles his throat.

They leap from the platform. The screen focuses on the runt. "Gadget, the girl genius whose intellect can conquer any problem with an inventive solution," says the narrator. Gadget presses a button on her chest control, and large metal wings sprout from her back. She takes hold of the device at her waist, and the wings respond and carry her into the air. Lasers pop out of the wall panels and open fire against her, but she easily avoids all the shots and goes for another button. Now a small missile launcher comes up between the wings and destroys all the guns.

Gadget lands on the platform she and her classmates originally stood on, then glides away as two robots step in from portals that open up in the walls. The boy takes her place. "Hexx, the enchanting sorcerer whose powerful hexes mean bad luck for his enemies," the narrator said. Hexx extends his arms to both sides and does a 360-degree spin, throwing off a wave of energy that causes a couple of wall panels to fall away. He leaps high off the platform, and the panels crash down on the robots' heads. Two others have moved in during this sequence and meet the same fate. Hexx backflips down the corridor a short distance.

Three large laser cannons emerge from recessed panels in the floor, but the giant drops into view and bends the barrel of one of them as if it were a piece of taffy. "And Massive-the genetically enhanced giant whose unstoppable strength speaks for itself," the narrator says. Massive tears the cannon from its moorings and does an Olympic-style hammer throw to sling it away. It skids across the floor and wrecks the other two. Massive looks very pleased with herself.

"Well-organized, highly trained, and combat-equipped, these new HAEYP agents are the perfect fighting force," the narrator says as the teens continue their demonstration. "And for the right price, this ideal team can be yours." The screen gives way to static before showing the crest once again. The woman that was narrating steps into the light. She has gray hair and is wearing a dark outfit with a gold hexagon on one sleeve. She is the HIVE Academy's headmistress. "Well, Mr. Slade," she asks.

Slade stands on an elevated platform. He looks down at the woman. "Impressive. Truly," he said, "however, robots and obstacle courses only prove so much. My plans demand operatives who can function in the real world. If your students are going to serve me, they'll have to pass one final exam."

A spotlight shines on Gadget, Massive, and Hexx. Another one shines on the headmistress. Slade sits in darkness. "Destroy the Teen Titans," he says to the graduates, "then we'll talk." The light on the trio goes out, and the headmistress bows before hers is extinguished as well.

"Aw, man, come on," Cyber yells. The sink and counter are piled high with dirty dishes, and the floor is strewn with garbage. "It's gotta be around here someplace," the cybernetic teen exclaims. Beast Girl, as a bloodhound, sniffs at some of the trash as a frustrated groan is heard from Cyber's direction. "I don't believe this!"

Beast Girl continues to nose through the trash while Cyber hoists up the couch and shakes it. Revan is reading a book at the kitchen table. "How could you lose the remote," Cyber asks Beast Girl. "What makes you so sure I lost it," is the reply. "Uh...'cause you're you," Cyber retorts. "Hey! Just because I lost that video game-"

"-and the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron," Cyber says, cutting Beast Girl off. "Things disappear," the green girl says. "How am I supposed to know where they go?" Revan looks up from his book with an annoyed expression on his face. "Well, how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote," Cyber retorted. Revan slams his book shut and stands up.

"Simple," he said icily. "You just get up and change the channel." The two squabbling girls give him and each other a very long and puzzled look. "Don't even joke like that," says Cyber. "I wasn't joking," Revan said. "Good, 'cause it wasn't funny! Now either help us look for the remote, or go back to your nasty old book and-"

"This is a pointless argument over a useless device," the dark boy says, cutting off Cyber's rant. "You are wasting your energy and disrupting my concentration." The side door behind him opens to admit Robyn and Starblaze. "I'm telling you," Beast Girl says, "I didn't lose it! You were the one watching TV last!"

Starblaze is in the middle of explaining something to Robyn. "And that is the secret to traveling faster than light," he says. "So if you to blame someone," the green teen yells to Cyber, "look in the mirror, girl!"

"Whoa! Take it easy, Titans," Robyn exclaims, "combat practice is this afternoon!" Starblaze gets an idea. "We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them." As he walks toward the kitchen, Cyber responds to this, saying: "I don't need food!" The Titans continue to argue.

Starblaze looked inside the refrigerator. There is a jumble of half-eaten leftovers, all covered with a thick layer of blue mold-this thing has not been cleaned out in who knows how long. The growth on a wheel of cheese starts to move and screech. Starblaze shrieks in alarm and throws a star-bolt, blowing up everything inside and splattering blue crud throughout the operations center. The four Titans have just had the living daylights scared out of them, not to mention a healthy dose of the mold dripped on their heads.

"Maybe we should just go out for pizza," Robyn suggests. At the pizza place, Beast Girl and Cyber are arguing about pizza toppings. "Can we please just order something," an annoyed Revan says. "As long as it's vegetarian," Beast Girl replies. "Come on, girl," Cyber groans, "how can you deny me the all-experience?" Beast Girl looked offended. "Dude, I've been most of those animals!"

"I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mist frosting," Starblaze said, beaming at his suggestion. Beast Girl looked disgusted by this, and Cyber and Revan didn't seem to care. Robyn leaned over to him. "Um, Starblaze," she said, "not everything on the menu is a pizza topping."

"Oh," Starblaze exclaimed, blushing. "Double pepperoni," Cyber yelled. "I'm not eating meat," Beast Girl said. "There's no meat in pepperoni," Cyber retorted.

Meanwhile, Gadget is looking through her green-lensed binoculars at the Titans. "Gadget to Hexx," she said. Hexx is standing next to a parked bus with a hand cupped to his ear-he is receiving her transmission on a hidden radio. "Begin Phase One," Gadget says over the radio.

Hexx carelessly tosses a spell at the bus, causing it to roll downhill. Back at the pizza joint; as the vehicle's horn blares from down the street, the Titans stand up from the table. The sound of a baby crying from ground level elicits a shocked gasp from Beast Girl. The bus is about to collide with a baby carriage.

"Titans! Go," Robyn yells. They immediately spring into action while the bus keeps bearing down on the crosswalk. Starblaze pushes the carriage out of the way, and Cyber and Revan plant themselves in the vehicle's path. When the bus reaches Cyber, she pushes back against the front fender to slow it down. Her feet grind against the pavement, then Revan casts a spell. The bus's gearshift lever changes from neutral to park. The tires stop spinning and go into a tearing skid, then pull back. Cyber has finally brought the thing to a stop with only a foot or two to spare between her and Revan.

The doors have come open, revealing an empty driver's seat. Cyber straightens herself up. "Um, don't buses normally have drivers," Cyber asked. Beast Girl and Starblaze look on, while Robyn peers into the carriage. She too straightens herself up. "And don't baby carriages normally have babies," Robyn asked.

The two Titans near her look in as well. Robyn is holding a teddy bear that had been taking the place of the typical occupant. Its eyes are green-the same color as the lenses of Gadget's goggles-and her voice is heard next. "Are you pit-sniffers normally this stupid?"

The bear's head swivels slightly, and the eyes suddenly glow and fire laser beams. Robyn, Beast Girl, and Starblaze are projected screaming through the air as a result of the hit, with smoke trailing behind them. Revan and Cyber are still standing in front of the bus, which suddenly seems to tilt back onto its rear wheels of its own volition. They look up, completely flabbergasted as the shadow falls over them. Massive has seized the rear bumper and levered the mode of mass transit into the air, and she brings it down on top of the two. As the dust clears, she walks forward and brushes dust from her hands, and Gadget's nasty laughter is heard. She and Hexx step into view.

"That was too easy," Gadget says snarkily, "what a buncha cludge-heads. You guys want to get pizza?" Robyn, Beast Girl, and Starblaze have ended up in an alley. Beast Girl is in a trash can, with a banana peel over her head. "This isn't over," Robyn exclaims as she dusts herself off.

Back in the street, the bus gets blasted to one side. Cyber's sonic cannon, protruding from a hole in the ground, is revealed as the driving force. "We're just getting started," Cyber says as she stands up from the hole. A bird-shaped shadow looms up behind her. It resolves into Revan as he brings his arms back in and wraps his cloak around himself.

"Who are these guys," Beast Girl asks, "and what's a cludge-head?" Gadget speaks first. "We are the HIVE," she exclaims. "Your worst nightmare," Massive continues. "And this is Attack Pattern Alpha," Hexx finishes. He and Massive scramble, and a jet pack on Gadget's back carries her into the air. She fires a volley of laser shots at the alley, chipping loose large hunks of masonry so that they fall on the three Titans. Revan and Hexx in spell-to-spell combat, then to the grappling Cyber and Massive. The HIVE alumnus is pushed back down the street at Robyn and company emerge from the rockslide Gadget set off.

"What do you call an idiot with a rocket on her back," Massive asked. "Huh," a confused Cyber said. Gadget zooms over and sticks one between Cyber's shoulder blades. "Doomed," Gadget finished. She gets clear and touches a control; igniting the rocket and sending Cyber veering crazily over the buildings. Robyn, Beast Girl, and Starblaze watch from the alley as her yells of panic drift down to them; the latter gasps.

"Cyber!" Starblaze takes off to catch up with her, but a sudden change of direction throws him off. Meanwhile, Hexx charges at Revan with a jumping spin kick, but he ducks away and gets behind the funny-haired sorcerer. Dodging two more strikes, Revan counters with a backhand. Hexx blocks it.

"You fight like a girl," Hexx taunts. Gadget is overhead, now balanced on four tall spider legs. "And you're gonna croak like a frog," she exclaims. The contraption fires a blast that hurls Revan down the street and squarely into the charging Robyn. Beast Girl passes them both. "Hah!" She emits a battle cry and turns into an elephant, continuing her rush.

However, Beast Girl is stopped short suddenly at the sound of Massive grunting. The giant has lifted her clean off her feet; Massive's fellow graduates are watching. "Massive's gonna make you extinct," she exclaimed. Robyn and Revan are on the ground. "Beast Girl," she exclaimed, getting up, "hang on!"

Massive threw the green elephant straight up into the air and hits it with a jumping punch on the way down. Robyn suddenly finds herself directly in the path of her teammate, who changes back to human form just before slamming into her. They skid to a stop near Revan. "Is it me, or are we getting our butts kicked," Beast Girl asked. "It's just you," Robyn and Revan said in unison. "Listen up team," Robyn said. "I have a plan."

Two of Gadget's shots flash into view and send Revan and Beast Girl flying. Robyn manages to get out of the way; they end up almost a block away. "Gee, scrum-buffer," Gadget said in a taunting manner, "sure hope you fancy plan includes getting fried." The weapon that fired those shots is poking over her shoulder. It levels itself at Robyn, who stands her ground.

"You'll just have to find out the hard way," Robyn said. She takes up a fighting stance, holding one hand out with its back to the trio, and flicks the fingers toward herself-"bring it on." The shoulder-mounted laser zeroes in and fires a shot, and a long crack opens in the asphalt ahead of the strike; Hexx leaps backwards, landing on his knees, and throws a spell that breaks the fissure wider. Massive leaps in with a mighty yell and brings all of her weight down on the fault line.

The net effect of the three-way combo has been to open a very wide chasm, which runs straight down the middle of the road toward Robyn. She tumbles screaming into the darkness beneath Jump City. Revan and Beast Girl arrive at the scene and peer into the hole Robyn fell in. The Titans' leader is nowhere to be found. "Robyn," Beast Girl cried.

Beast Girl and Revan walk into Titans' Tower. Beast Girl is limping. She leans on Revan for support. "That didn't just happen," Beast Girl says softly as Revan helps her into a chair. She rubs her leg. "Tell me that didn't just happen." Revan sighed. "It did happen," he said bluntly. "We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it." He holds his hands near Beast Girl's injured leg; a brief glow of healing energy envelops them. Beast Girl smiled.

"Who knew we had a doctor in the house," she joked. "Thanks." Revan returned the smile. "No problem," he said. The door opens again. Beast Girl and Revan trade nervous looks before Cyber and Starblaze walk in with ear-to-ear smiles. The former no longer has Gadget's rocket attached to her back. The door closes.

"Maybe y'all should call me Flyber," the cybernetic teen joked. "I was halfway to Gotham City before Star zapped that thing off my back. So, what'd I miss?" Revan cannot meet her eyes; neither can Beast Girl. "Tell me how we kicked their butts," Cyber urged, "come on, I gotta have the play-by-play." Starblaze looks around. "Where is Robyn," he asks. "Um, Star," Beast Girl said nervously. "We're not sure."

"Not sure?" Starblaze was confused. "Why are you not-" Revan cut him off. "We searched everywhere," he said. "And all we found was this." He pulled the Girl Wonder's utility belt from his cloak. Starblaze gasps in horror; Cyber groans and claps both hands to her forehead. "I shoulda been there," she said. "I let that kid sneak up on me and-what was I-? It was a trap, and I-I shoulda known."

"I do not understand," Starblaze said in confusion. "How could you not find her?" He looks at Revan. "People do not just vanish! She has to be someplace, so go there and look!" Starblaze shouted the last part. "Easy, Star," Beast Girl said, trying to calm him down, "come on. This is Robyn we're talking about. I'm sure she's fine. She'll probably turn up any second."

The door mechanism kicks into gear once more. "Awesome timing," Beast Girl says, relieved. "Robyn," Starblaze exclaimed. He flies toward the door. It has not yet opened, and he walks toward the threshold to see who has arrived. A moment later, the whole entrance disappeared in a mighty crash that throws him backward. The dust clears to show the HIVE team walking in; Gadget is back up on her mechanical spider legs.

"Oh, no," Beast Girl said. Massive cracked her knuckles. "Oh, yes," Hexx said. The four Titans get ready to fight. "You guys got lucky last time," Cyber said, "but you're in our house now." The trio advances. "Yeah, nice place," Gadget said. "We'll take it!" Gadget blasts at them. When the dust clears, Revan levitates some chairs and throws them at the HIVE while Starblaze tosses off some star-bolts at them.

Beast Girl gets thrown across the room, and Cyber blasts at the three villains. "Split up," she yelled. Revan and Starblaze fly up the stairs; the former throws two fire extinguishers at Massive, who knocks them away. Beast Girl-as a bobcat- dodges attacks from Hexx, who is making the wall panels fall down. "Here kitty kitty," Hexx says, grinning evilly. "What's the matter? Afraid of a little bad luck?"

Revan and Starblaze burst through the closed gym doors and slam them shut again. A star-bolt is fired against the frame and traced along the doors' outer edges to weld them closed. The two boys then back up a bit and trade a very nervous look, wondering wether the barricade will hold. This proves to be a moot point when the wall behind them blows out, throwing them to the floor. They look back toward it and find Massive's head protruding from a fresh hole-she just delivered a mother of a head-butt. "Hello, boys," she said.

Cyber retreats up the stairs as one of Gadget's long, metal legs swings into view. She walks into a room. Cyber peeks out from a corner across the hall, nips over, and peers in carefully after Gadget; she steps in boldly. Except for the light spilling from the hall, the place is completely dark. The blackness becomes whole when the door slides shut without warning. "Hey!" Cyber yelled.

A wall of TV screens comes to life, every one showing a close-up of Gadget's grinning visage. "So, Tin Woman, you got a heart under all that outdated crud-ware?" Gadget taunted. Cyber turns away, but a single giant screen, also showing Gadget, comes on next to her. "Not telling?" Gadget asked. "Guess I'll have to take you apart and find out!" The whiz kid's spider legs carried her into the light from the screens and lower her steadily toward Cyber, who can only stare in complete shock.

Beast Girl, back in human form, races around the corner and into view. Seeing no one behind her, she stops to catch her breath. "Lost him," Beast Girl said, referring to Hexx. She has spoken too soon. A couple of Hexx's spells pass just over Beast Girl head and hit the ceiling. A panel swings loose and cracks her dead in the face. Beast Girl's head rattles on her neck for a moment before she collapses; Hexx walks up behind her. "This just isn't your lucky day," he said.

Beast Girl sits rubbing her head for a second before transforming into a tyrannosaurus rex and roaring with enough force to shake the entire building. Hexx does a few backflips to get out of range, then stops and fixes a glowing stare in her. Around the green reptile, a ring of pink fire flares up briefly and toward her head before disappearing. There is a loud crackling from the floor, followed by the collapse of the section on which Beast Girl is standing due to his hex; she drops from sight. Hexx walks up to the hole and smiles.

In the storage area of the Tower, there is a large circular hatchway in the back wall. This is smashed off its hinges by Cyber, who emerges into this place unscathed. She is not alone; however; Gadget comes out of the dust clouds and moves in on her. Cyber steadily backs up before the advance; one of the metal legs swings at her, but she catches the end in both hands. "Gotcha!" She exclaimed.

Gadget just grins and swings another leg. Cyber shifts her grip to free up one hand and catch this one as well. A good strong wrenching motion throws Gadget off balance and sends her to the floor; when she hits, sparks fly from the central unit on her back. She is quickly yanked free of the legs and held aloft by the chuckling Titan. The unit is still on Gadget's back, but it is soon pulled off. "Let me go, you scuzz-munching zit," Gadget yelled.

Cyber puts her down so she can run away and then crushes the device. The cybernetic teen tosses the remains aside like a candy wrapper. Gadget runs off among the crates and boxes; now Cyber walks after her at a leisurely pace. "How you gonna fight me without your tech," she asks. A small, shadowy figure passes in front of her, and she goes after it. Gadget peeks out from behind a panel; she gasps as it is lifted away by a very pleased Cyber. The cybernetic teen suddenly looks down with surprise at the sound of a crunch. "Huh," she says in confusion.

Her foot has come down on a flashlight-like unit and damaged somewhat. Looking up again, she sees Gadget's image grin and then flicker out-it was merely a hologram projected by that unit. Cyber backs cautiously away; the real Gadget is perched on a piece of equipment behind her, and she jumps down onto the back and pulls out a tool. Sparks fly. "Yo, what are you-"

The gadget genius pops open a panel and goes to work on the circuitry. "Get out of my systems," Cyber yells. "Nobody hacks my systems!" She runs back and forth, clearly against her will due to the hot-wiring, then stops as her limbs start to flail randomly. Her right arm is raised. "Ooh, ejector arm," Gadget says. "Cool!"

She makes it pop off-hand, forearm, and half the upper arm. It rolls uselessly away across the floor. The shadows of the two combatants are projected against the far wall. "My arm," Cyber yells. The exterior of the Tower shakes and bends as the fight inside continues.

It is now later in the day. "Get off! Get off me! Stop!" Cyber's yells can be heard from outside the Tower. She flies screaming off the roof as if shot from a cannon, and lands in the middle of Jump City Bay. Another set of yells and three more splashes mark the forcible eviction of Beast Girl, Revan, and Starblaze. The HIVE team can be seen looking out from the top-floor window of the operations centre. "Have a nice afterlife, you snot-eating losers," Gadget yells.

Hexx casts a spell, which stirs up a huge tidal wave that leaves the foursome too scared to move as its shadow falls over them. Down comes the wall of water; the HIVE operatives smile smugly and walk away.

Two seagulls are perched on pilings. (The words in italics are voice over.)

_"That didn't just happen. Tell that didn't just happen."-Beast Girl._

_"Get out of my systems. Get off me."-Cyber. _A soda can washes up on the shore. Now the spoken words start to overlap.

_"Robin. Where is Robin? I do not understand.""Gotta go out for the others.""We searched everywhere.""How could you not find her?""All we found was this." _Cyber makes her way up the slope. _"People do not just vanish.""Oh, no.""I shoulda been there. I shoulda known."_

The other three Titans make their way up the slope after her. "So, uh...who else never wants to go surfing again," Beast Girl says, trying to lighten the mood. "Not now, girl," an annoyed Cyber says. "Hey, I was just trying to-" Beast Girl begins to say. Revan puts a hand on her shoulder to cut her off. Cyber extends a small acetylene torch from her left forefinger. The panel on her thigh opens, revealing a plethora of sparks and short circuits. Starblaze approaches from behind as she bends down to the self-repair work. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance," he suggests.

"I got it," Cyber says. "But you are so damaged and-" Cyber rounds on Starblaze; he gasps. "I got it!" Cyber yells. "Hey! He only wanted to help! What is your problem," Beast Girl yells back. "What do you think," Cyber retorts. "We got kicked out of our house, a pint-size Poindexter took me for a joyride, and in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed!"

"Enough! We need to control our emotions," Revan says bluntly. "Or what? Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating," Cyber said. Starblaze sighed. "I wish Robyn were here," he said sadly. "Well, she's not," Cyber yelled. "Don't you guys get it? They won, we lost. IT"S OVER!" The four Titans stand slumped in defeat. "Then...the Teen Titans are finished," Beast Girl asks. "Not yet."

The voice draws four very surprised glances over four assorted pairs of shoulders. There, standing in front of some bushes-arms crossed, confident smile, cape waving in the breeze-is Robyn. Except for her missing belt, everything is in proper order. "Not if I can help it," Robyn continues.

At night, the new occupants of Titans' Tower have started extensive renovations to the place, as follows. One, the vertical bar of the T has been extended. Two, the lights in one half of the crossbar top floor has been put out. Three, a second vertical portion has been built to join with the half that is still lit; it reaches the same height as the central extension. The entire effect is to make the lighted Tower portions and new construction look like a giant H for HIVE, and the honeycomb pattern has been applied to the add-ons.

Gadget's hands reach into view, thumbs and forefingers extended to make a box in which she is framing a patch of blank wall. Two small robots whiz into view, carrying Cyber's detached arm-mounted as if it were a stuffed fish-between them, and follow his instructions as they hang it up. "Higher...a little to the left...a little more...perfect," she said, giving thumbs-up.

"Slade's gonna have kittens when he hears we whipped the Titans and took their stinking Tower," Gadget continued. She passes the kitchen. Massive looks in the fridge, while Hexx comes down the stairs. He has donned Robyn's belt, which sits askew on his hips similar to the way Revan wears his, and has one of the latter's spare cloaks over his arm. "Not to mention Robyn's favourite fashion statement," he says. Hexx eyes the cloak and sighs with contempt. "But that's the only thing fashionable around here."

"Tell me about it," Massive says, pulling a moldy hamburger from the fridge. "Hmph. All their food is way out of date." Despite this fact, she downs the burger in one gulp**(1)**. "You think that stuff's rotten," Gadget calls from the operations centre; she holds up a CD. "Wait 'til you see their music." She tosses it aside, then another. "Crud...snot..." She continues to toss CDs aside. Gadget sighs. "Mega-crud...snot..."

The middle fingertip on the mounted arm pulls loose of the hand, remaining connected to it by two thin jointed armatures. It swivels to point its open end in view, revealing a tiny camera lens inside. A brief change in focus, and it turns to point elsewhere. It zooms in on Hexx, who has put on Revan's cloak.

"Does he have anything that's not blue," Hexx asks. Gadget continues to go through CDs, while Massive gorges on the food in the fridge. The tiny camera roves on, stopping at one of the computer consoles.

Hexx inspects himself with a hand mirror. The arm scuttles into view, walking on its fingers with the camera still active, and turns here and there to scope out the place. Massive eagerly lifts a moldy chicken drumstick to her mouth and licks it. The arm makes its way along a ledge on the far side of the kitchen while she eats the meat off the bone.

Gadget has another CD in her hand. She throws it and the next one away. "Ugh. Crud...snot..." The arm moves along the ledge behind her and is not noticed. It stops near one of the consoles and points its camera around the area before jumping down into the seat. Thin tentacles fly out from the joint where the limb connected to the stump of Cyber's natural arm. They press several keys, and the view cuts to an overhead shot of the keyboard as they go to work and the screen lights up with a schematic of the Tower. Piece by piece, the diagram goes red. When it has all turned this color, the screen winks out and alarms and buzzers start to sound, accompanied by red flashing lights throughout the operations center. The security systems have been triggered.

Hexx gasps and throws the cloak aside, and Massive stands up from the fridge. All the cabinet doors in the kitchen start opening and closing at random. Next Gadget stands up from the CD rack; without warning, one disc after another is ejected past her at high speed. "Hey," Gadget exclaimed.

This is the only intelligible word she gets out before trailing off into surprised yells and losing her balance to tumble on the floor. She slides backward as the rack continues its impression of a skeet-shooting target launcher. "What the hairball," Gadget said.

The chair of the nearest console swivels to give her a good look at the arm occupying it; she cries out in surprise and fear. The tentacles have retracted, but now they shoot forth again and wrap around his arms and legs. The bionic limb jumps down and speeds across the floor, dragging one very surprised pipsqueak, and pops a couple of small jet thrusters out from the forearm. These ignite and carry it into the air; the hand balls into a fist as the thing aims itself toward the ceiling and carries Gizmo up with it.

The arm closes in on an ceiling air vent and punches through; it races along the ductwork and takes Gadget for one very wild ride and out of sight around a bend. Back in the kitchen, a large shadowy hand reaches down behind Hexx and seizes him. He has time for one startled cry before it recedes into the ceiling and takes him with it-the sort of thing only Revan could do. Massive is left standing by herself; the side door opens on its own, and a star-bolt rockets into view from the left side of the screen to knock her through it. Starblaze has made it into the Tower. The door closes.

A large black raven emerges from the surface of the roof and rises, leaving Hexx there to drop to his knees. It was Revan's 'soul self'-a projection that can carry individuals from one place to another. Behind Hexx, Cyber's arm bursts out of a vent pipe and carries the screaming Gadget higher and higher before veering back toward her classmate. He gasps in shock and his eyes widen-just before he is hit head-on and both roll halfway across the roof. Having released Gadget, the arm flies away, and the closed door of the stairs or elevator leading up here slide open. A green flash of a star-bolt is seen, and Massive is blasted out onto the roof. She ends up next to the other two HIVE agents.

Robyn raises her hand; her belt lands neatly in it. "Sorry to interrupt the victory celebration," she says, fastening the belt around her waist. "But like I said, this isn't over." Cyber nods. "It's just getting started," she said. The trio stands up. "Attack Pattern Alpha!" Hexx shouts. Gadget and Massive scatter while he shouts and throws a spell. The Titans scramble to avoid it; when it hits the rooftop, a panel swells and explodes. Beast Girl comes down from her jump only to find Massive coming straight at her. She jumps away again and turns into a hawk as the giant slams her fist down on the roof and sends a shock wave toward Cyber.

Hexx lands behind the latter and vaults high over her shoulders, hurling a spell down at her as he sails through the air. It knocks out the base of a water tank and causes the whole thing to topple toward Cyber, who gets out of the way just in time before a second tank collapses nearby.

Starblaze throws a few Tamaranean fastballs at Hexx, who nimbly dodges them and ducks out of sight behind part of the new construction. Starblaze flies in after him. Cyber, meanwhile, looks around herself a bit. All clear-but that changes in an instant when Gadget jumps down from the fallen water tanks and lands on her back. "Hey Robo-Wimp," she says, pulling out a tool. "Feel like getting hacked?"

"Nope. How 'bout you?" Cyber retorts. "Robyn! Now!" Robyn jumps and throws a small device at Cyber and Gadget; it attaches itself to the machinery on the latter's back, and sparks fly as she yells in pain and frustration. Robyn drops back to the roof.

Gadget runs around, trying to pull the thing off. "Cut it out!" she yells at the device. "It's gonna crash my whole system!" She rips off her shoulder-mounted laser. "Get it off me!" Gadget yells. "Get it off me!" Robyn's device triggers the jet pack, which carries Gadget off the roof. Hexx runs like mad to avoid getting fried by Starblaze's bombardment. "Beast Girl! Go!" the latter yells.

The aforementioned Titan is back in human form and crouching on an overhead girder to watch Hexx. Flipping Starblaze a hand sign to acknowledge, she dives from her perch and transforms into a monkey to come down squarely on the face of the fleeing boy. Hexx has made his way into a framework of pipes. Unable to see, he fires spells in all directions in an attempt to get her off; finally he gets all ten fingers into the games, yanks her away, and throws her across the roof. She reverts to human form before touching down. "Your luck just ran out!" Beast Girl yelled.

Getting a running start, she again becomes a hawk and flies into the open sky. "Huh?" says a very puzzled Hexx. Creaks and groans from the pipework draw his attention. One after another, the pipe joints start to pop, having been hit by the spells he was casting every which way. One pipe bursts open and spews water and steam. The sound of a nervous little shudder is all he can manage as more lines rupture and collapse around her.

Massive is advancing on Raven. She aims a colossal punch at him, but he flies up to avoid it and comes down behind her. When she turns to charge again, Cyber rams a shoulder into her. It takes some time for Massive to touch down on the roof and stop skidding; when he does, Beast Girl, as a T-rex, is waiting for her. One snarl is all it takes to make the overgrown villain completely freak out and run for her life. Starblaze gathers all his strength for a star-bolt and lets it go, hitting Massive dead center in the gut. The hit leaves her spinning in the air as Robyn dashes over. One mighty flying kick drives Massive back into Gadget and Hexx and leaves all three in a weary, groaning pile. Gizmo is at the bottom of it; she has a transmitter in hand. "Cram it," she says "I'm calling Slade." Robyn yanks her up to eye level as the latter switches it on. "Who is Slade?" Robyn asks. "Wouldn't you like to know, barf-brain?" Gadget retorts.

Back in Slade's lair, the HIVE Academy's headmistress stands at the edge of the platform. "I assure you," she says, "such failures are not tolerated within the HIVE. Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they will be disciplined." She socks a fist into her palm. "Strictly disciplined," she continued.

Slade steps out from among the pipes-the headmistress had been addressing herself to him. The light glinting off his figure shows the colors gray on the right side, and red-orange on the left side. "Actually, your agents served my plans quite well," he said. "I never expected them to succeed.

"They were merely messengers," Slade continued, "and the message has been received." On the end of this, he activates a transmitter, a counterpart of the one Gadget carried. On the monitor behind the headmistress, an image of Robyn appears-caught on film by Gadget and asking 'Who is Slade?' over and over. More images of different sizes appear to fill the screen. Soon there was an entire row of screens filled with images. That three-word question is repeated countless times by all of them. If Slade's intent was to bring his name to the Titans' attention, the HIVE crew did indeed meet his expectations.

Back at the Tower, the original architecture has been restored. "NOOOO! This is the worst thing that could ever happen!" Beast Girl yelled. She is in human form, with hands to head and ready to pull her green hair out. "My tunes! They've been," she steps back**(2)**, "alphabetized."

She tosses CDs around the operations center as Cyber looks high and low. Robyn stands behind the couch and watches the two. "How am I ever gonna find anything?" Beast Girl whines. Revan comes downstairs, carrying the cloak Hexx borrowed. "They went into my room," he says icily. "No one should ever go into my room."

Starblaze gasps and pops up from under the kitchen counter. "Someone has disposed of all our blue furry food!" he exclaimed. Cyber lifted the couch. "You gotta be kidding me!" she yelled. "The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-"

A whistle stops her short; Robyn points down toward the couch. The missing remote is laying on the coffee table-it was hiding in plain sight. "Ha!" Cyber says, dropping the couch. She sits on it with Robyn, who has started flipping channels. "I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?" Cyber asks. The other Titans gather around the couch to hear what their leader has to say. "We will," the Girl Wonder says. "But right now, I'm just glad to be part of the team. She points the remote at the TV, and the view turns black**(3)**.

**A/N: I hope you like this new update. **

**(1): That's just trifling.**

**(2): Me: *in Rainbow Dash voice* Pause for dramatic effect.**

**(3): Robin broke the fourth wall. That's just awesome.**


	4. Forces of Nature

The night sky is filled with dark thunderhead clouds. Flashes of lightning illuminate their contours. A bulky silhouette stands up among them and begins to swing a pair of sticks against the clouds; every time it brings them down, there is another strike and accompanying thunderclap. More lightning crackled in another patch of the sky. A second silhouette, this one much thinner and with hair down-swept and spiky, stands up and directs its hands here and there. There is a new flare-up every time it does so.

Meanwhile, something's happening at Titans' Tower. Inside, in the hall, Beast Girl has become a buffalo and is straining mightily at a rubber band looped over her horns, trying to catch it on a nearby hook. She succeeds and ducks away, coming up in human form with a mischievous smile on her face. Now she produces a large, filled water balloon that sloshes a bit in her hands, and she lets off a wicked little chuckle. "This is gonna be so sweet!" Beast Girl exclaimed.

"What are you doing?" The voice surprised her; she let go of the balloon and completely freaks out as she tries desperately to make a safe catch. Finally she gets hold of it and turns around, facing Revan. "Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous prank," he says. "Okay. It's not a ridiculous prank," Beast Girl replies. "It's a brilliant one." She laughs. Revan rolls his eyes wearily.

"Alright, check it out," Beast Girl continued. "'Member how Cyber put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for toe days? Well, brother, it's payback time." A pull string hangs down from the ceiling, and she reaches for it. "I give you," she says, pulling the string, "the Beast Girl Insta-Lube 9000!" She and Revan back up as a blueprint comes down; the words 'Beast Girl' and 'Insta-Lube' slide down beneath it, after which '9000' drops from the lower edge and replaces them. The diagram shows the rubber band, which is part of a floor-mounted slingshot, held back by the hook and with the balloon loaded in. A tripwire in front of the rig runs through overhead pulleys and is tied to a lever that is in turn connected to the hook.

On the blueprint, a rough figure of Cyber steps up and catches her foot on the tripwire. "See," Beast Girl says, "when Chrome-Dome steps around the corner, her foot tugs the string. The string trips the lever..." the blueprint shows this, "the lever releases the mother of all rubber bands..." shown on the blueprint, "which sends a balloon-load of motor oil flying right at her, and BOOSH!"

The blueprint rolls up, and Beast Girl puts the balloon in the rubber band. "Pretty clever, huh?" Beast Girl asks. "You're a genius," Revan said sarcastically. "It's just a little good clean dirty fun," Beast Girl said. A door opens; she perks up her ears to listen. "Here she comes," she says. She ducks away, then back to whisk Revan off. "Whoa!" Revan exclaims. They hide around a corner. "I don't think-"

"Shh!" Beast Girl exclaimed, cutting the empath off. "But what if-" "_Shhh_!" There is a long silence between them. "Why are we hiding?" a voice asks, breaking the silence. "Shhh!" Beast Girl's eyes instantly go as wide as saucers upon realizing that her target is nowhere near ground zero, and she flips out for a moment. Cyber is hunched down behind both of them. "Cyber?!" Beast Girl exclaims. "You can't be Cyber!"

"I can't?" Cyber asks. "If you're you," Beast Girl said, pointing at her cybernetic friend, "then who's...?" Footsteps echo out there as all three look out. An indigo boot steps into view and catches the tripwire. The balloon is released as Beast Girl jumps out in a frantic attempt to stop it. "_NOOOOOOOO!_" she exclaims. The victim is so taken by surprise that he literally can't see straight.

"Eek!" Starblaze lets out a surprised squeal as the balloon collides with his face, splattering him with the viscous contents, and knocks him onto his back. Beast Girl runs up. "Starblaze!" she exclaimed. The Tamaranean has propped himself up on his hands, but cannot see her due to all the oil covering his eyes. Cyber and Revan come over. "You okay?" the former asks him, who has finally got his eyes open.

"This is punishment?" Starblaze asked, puzzled. "I did something wrong?" Revan shook his head. "You didn't," he said, "she did." Beast Girl gave a sheepish grin-accompanied by a sheep's bleating. "Star! It was..." she trails off, then tries again. "...you weren't supposed to..." she trails off again. She starts to say something again, but Cyber's and Revan's disapproving glares stop her in her tracks for a moment.

"I didn't..." Beast Girl trails off once again and laughs. "Just remember to change that oil every three thousand miles." She tries to laugh again, but it dies on her lips. Starblaze stands up and leans over her; his rage is steadily building. "On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things," Starblaze says to Beast Girl. "You are a...a...CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!" The oil disappears from his face on the last two words.

"I'm a what-bag?" Beast Girl asked. "You heard the man," Cyber said. "You are _such _a clorbag," Revan said, shaking his head. "Come on, you guys," Beast Girl says, "can't anybody take a joke?" A flash of lightning interrupts the standoff. "Titans!" Robyn exclaimed; her face is silhouetted by the glare. "Trouble!" The next lightning strike illuminated her fully before everything went black.

Lightning flashes among the storm clouds over the bridge across Jump City Bay. It finally strikes the roadway. A truck driver yells in surprise and cuts his wheels sharply to the right, braking as he does so; the truck stops just short of the smoking, flaming strike point. Many cars slam on their brakes to avoid a collision, creating an instant traffic jam.

As the smoke starts to clear, the two silhouettes seen among the clouds become visible within it. The last wisps evaporate to give a fully detailed view of both; they wear outfits that look like something like samurai armor, but without the upper body protection. The bulky one has blue skin and black clothing trimmed with blue, and she also wears a samurai-style helmet. A thundercloud is emblazoned on her chest, and she has long black hair. Her thin cohort, on the other hand, has light yellow skin and hair, and her outfit is red and yellow, with a lightning bolt on the chest. A headband keeps her hair out of the way and has a guard plate stretching down on either side to cover her cheeks.

Both wear armbands and wrist/shin guards. The two new arrivals look at each other and smile. "May we have fun here, sister?" The bulky one asked the thin one. "Of course," the thin one replied, creating a lightning bolt between her hands. "We are Thunder and Lightning! We may do whatever we please!"

Lightning throws the bolt upward, striking a suspension cable on the bridge. Sparks fly everywhere. "Look, sister!" she says to Thunder, "I command the sparks to dance!" She laughs as the strike dies out; the flickering remains fall all around in a shower. "Amusing," Thunder says. "Now listen as I make music!"

She claps her hands, creating an intense shock wave which radiates outward. The bridge cables are jarred loose and begin to whipsaw back and forth. The semi gets a smoking lightning bolt traced into its side. "Let all who pass this way know-Lightning was here!" The thin girl exclaimed. "And Thunder too!" The bulky girl added.

Thunder banged her fists together, knuckle to knuckle, and creates an earthquake that sets the stopped cars and their drivers trembling; all the alarm systems are set off in the process. The sisters laugh, and Thunder pats Lightning's shoulder. "Most amusing," the latter says.

"Hate to break it to you, but you girls have a lousy sense of humor," a voice said, surprising the two girls. They looked toward the traffic snarl where the Titans are standing on a truck trailer. It was Robyn who interrupted them. "This ends-now!" The Girl Wonder exclaimed.

"No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning!" The latter said, shaking her fist at Robyn. "Taste my power!" She throws a bolt at the truck and just misses the Titans, who scramble in five different directions. The trailer gets a big hole blown through it, wiping out her graffiti. Starblaze does a U-turn and swoops down on Lightning with star-bolts blazing; she jumps onto a line of stopped cars, he does likewise, and they run on these parallel tracks and trade shots. The firefight continues for several dozen yards until Lightning gets in a lucky hit that knocks Starblaze down.

Her sister, meanwhile, is mixing it up with Cyber. They block or dodge a few of each other's punches and start to grapple. Thunder pulls her left fist back and readies for a powerful strike; Cyber's right arm configures into the sonic cannon. The fists swing and connect with each other, resulting in a shock wave which throws them far down the bridge in opposite directions. Cyber lands on her back, but Thunder brings a small cloud to herself and hops onto it to float upwards.

Robyn finds the big, blue hooligan bearing down on her and has to dodge a thunderclap. She leaps onto a guardrail, but another blast destroys that section and she has to move down a bit. The next attack breaks a support cable; Robyn grabs the swinging free end and is carried away an instant before Thunder obliterates that section of the rail. The Girl Wonder is carried high into the air before the cable starts to descend. She times her next move carefully and hurls herself over Thunder, avoiding a punch and grabbing the foe's shoulders to throw her across the pavement.

Lightning throws a bolt at Revan, who dodges the shot and launches himself downward for a flying kick. The yellow sister throws up her arms and is driven backward by his flurry of attacks. Finally she gets clear and shocks the empath with a bolt that sends him flying.

No sooner is he down, though, than Beast Girl-as a giant panda-lumbers up behind and catches her in a bear hug. Lightning struggles for a moment, then electrifies her entire body and gives the shape-shifting Titan a few hundred thousand volts. The shock forces her back into human form and causes her to let go.

Lightning laughs. "Your powers are strong," she said, "but mine are stronger!" Beast Girl, lying against a chunk of debris, groans and rubs her head for several seconds. She then gasps as Thunder's shadow falls over her. "Your power of the animals is impressive, green one," she said, warming up her fists. "Rise so we may do battle."

Beast Girl stands up. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. "Because it is not sporting to attack an unready opponent," Thunder replied. "No," Beast Girl said, "why are you wrecking everything?" Thunder was puzzled. "Uh, because it is amusing."

The green Titan gestured to the scared motorists huddling behind their damaged and overturned vehicles. "Do they look amused?" Beast Girl asked the blue girl. "I-"

"This isn't funny!" Beast Girl exclaimed, cutting Thunder off. "It's wrong!" An attack of conscience makes Thunder relax her power. Before Beast Girl can say anything more, though, a lightning bolt blasts her away and its shooter jumps down next to her sister.

"Ah, the thrill of victory," Lightning said, putting her arm around Thunder's shoulders. "Come, Thunder. We shall seek more amusement." They take to the air. Beast Girl sits up against a pile of rubble; she is dazed, smoking, and disheveled. Beast Girl shakes her head to clear it and finds Starblaze floating into view behind her. He is clutching his forearm.

"Well, that was a shock," she said. Starblaze turns up his nose and floats on. "Hmph," he says. "So, I'm guessing you're still mad?" Beast Girl asks. Cyber helps Revan to his feet.

"Okay, team," Robyn says as Starblaze and Beast Girl arrive. "We have to find those girls before they do any more damage. Cyber, search the west side. Revan, the east. I'll take downtown. Beast Girl, you and Star scan from the skies." Beast Girl looks uneasily up at the partner who has just been assigned to her. He has turned his back and crossed his arms.

"Um, maybe Cyber should come with me instead," Beast Girl suggested. "Cyber can't fly," Robyn said bluntly. "Oh," the green Titan says, "yeah."

Cyber pinches Beast Girl's cheek; a big sweat drop rolls down the latter's face. "Have a nice flight, my little clorbag," the metallic teen said.

At the open courtyard in front of the museum, Lightning and Thunder decide to cause some trouble. A couple of girls make their way across the courtyard on foot and bicycle before there is a mighty blast of lightning. The troublemaking sisters appear, scaring the women away.

"Magnificent!" Lightning exclaimed. "We can make much mischief here!" She strikes a large metal globe, which rolls away from its post towards a row of stone slabs. It bangs into one slab, which topples over into the next, and so on like a row of falling dominoes. Thunder has a look of trepidation as the last slab falls down. Lightning walks into view.

"Sister!" Lightning exclaimed. "Did you see what I..." Lightning trailed off at the look on her sister's face. "Something troubles you?" she asked Thunder. "The green one's words," Thunder said. "She says our fun is...wrong." Lightning laughed. "Wrong?" she asked, still laughing as she puts her arm around Thunder's shoulders. "She speaks nonsense, sister! How could such amusement be wrong? The fun is only beginning." She leads Thunder away.

Starblaze is flying, looking intently down towards Jump City. Beast Girl, as a hawk, glides next to him. They land among the damaged courtyard of the museum. Beast Girl turned back to human form and they begin to inspect the smashed slabs. "Well, either they were just here, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen," Beast Girl said, trying to make a joke. "You are not funny," Starblaze said. "You are a clorbag varblernerk." He walks away; Beast Girl follows.

"Come on, Star," she says as she catches up with the Tamaranean boy. "You can't stay mad forever. What? Do I have to do the face?" Beast Girl smiles. "You know you can't resist the face."

Except for a glance out of the corner of his eye, he has not looked her way throughout all of this. In no time flat, Beast Girl has transformed into a small kitten with huge, shining eyes. She meows as endearingly as she can; Starblaze looks down at her for a long moment.

"Hmph," he said, turning up his nose as he walks away. Beast Girl returns to human form with a surprised meow. "He resisted the face!" she exclaimed. Starblaze has now reached the point where the globe was anchored. Smoke rises from the stump. Beast Girl runs up again. "Just talk to me, Star!" she exclaimed, kneeling. "Come on, this is no fun!"

"Wrong again, green one!" Lightning exclaimed. Laughing, Thunder floats into view on her cloud and throws a beam downwards. She is joined by an equally jubilant Lightning, also firing away. The sisters' onslaught connects with many parts of the courtyards. Starblaze runs down one side and manages to keep just ahead of Thunder, also on foot; when he reaches the end, he goes straight up the wall and does a long, high backflip to come down behind her. Starblaze throws a star-bolt but misses Thunder.

Lightning gets a bolt ready. She flings it at Beast Girl, who changes into a rabbit and hops away. Lightning chases her towards the ruins of those slabs and fires again. The startled green bunny runs away, and returns in the sky as a crane. More lightning comes her way and is just barely dodged; now she drops to the ground as a mouse and runs toward Lightning. The projectiles are very easy for her to evade now. Lightning laughs. "Your animal forms cannot protect you forever!" She shouts.

Beast Girl, as a bighorn sheep, barrels into her and sends her flying. Starblaze flips and leaps his way to the end of the courtyard as Thunder closes in. She projects a beam toward him, he counters with a mighty star-bolt, and the two attacks meet between them and cancel out. Starblaze's energy starts to overwhelm Thunder's. "Huh?" Thunder says, confused. The star-bolt reaches her and knocks her across the open expanse to land squarely on the spot where the globe had stood.

Beast Girl, now a giant bear, moves in on Thunder, and Lightning takes her fallen sister's place against Starblaze. The ursine Titan gets to her hind legs and plows into Thunder, driving her to the courtyard wall, then runs up in human form and grabs her collar. "I don't want to hurt you," Beast Girl said. "And I don't think you want to hurt me."

"Pain does not amuse us," Thunder replied. "Could've fooled me," Beast Girl said. "Keep playing rough, and innocent people will get hurt." This makes the big blue girl think a bit.

A fence separates the concrete of the courtyard from the museum lawn. There is a sudden puff of smoke, which solidifies into a tall figure wearing long red traveling robes and a broad, flat-crowned hat. An arm is lowered from the face, revealing long white hair blowing about an old but strong male face. The overall impression is vaguely Oriental, and is reinforced by the thin mustache and beard. Only one eye, the left, can be seen.

Under the red robes, the man wears black ones and has hidden an old wooden box on a tripod. This has a hand crank in its side, much like an old-style movie camera. The sorcerer smiles evilly and begins to turn the crank. The front cover falls away to expose a camera lens, which glows red and then white. Beast Girl and Thunder are caught off guard as the ground trembles. "Huh?" Both girls say, confused.

A broad energy beam shoots past them from the camera and smashes cleanly through the intact row of concrete slabs. It just misses Starblaze and Lightning, who have broken off their duel; the latter sidesteps, but she gasps as a shower of ruined stonework comes straight down toward her. "Star!" Beast Girl yells. The shadows of the crumbling slabs fall over her.

The two sisters back up in fear and awe at what this newcomer has just brought about. "Your gifts are your own," the sorcerer says, voice echoing. "Who are they to tell you how to use them?"

"And who are you that commands such power?" Lightning asks. "Show yourself!" The dust from the destruction of the concrete slabs starts to clear. "As you wish," the sorcerer said. The haze parts to reveal him standing within. "I am but a humble old man-" The camera, abandoned, shuts down. "-whose power is drawn from nature, like your own. Come with me, and sow as much destruction as you please." He turns away. "Yes!" Lightning exclaims, "more fun!" Thunder restrains her with a hand on her shoulder. "Will we harm anyone?" She asks. "What? The green one has poisoned your mind." Lightning said.

"This destruction-will we harm the innocent?" Thunder asks again. "Would it matter if you did?" The sorcerer asked. "You are unique. Gifted. Better. Why should anything interfere with your enjoyment? I am going. Follow, if you wish." He walks out of the courtyard; Lightning follows. "Come, sister, and leave your foolish thoughts behind," Lightning said. Thunder takes a few steps after them, but stops and looks back at the pile of crumbled stone for a moment. She then turns to catch up with the other two.

A small green spider-Beast Girl-scuttles out of a hole in the pile and climbs up the side a bit; she then returns to human form. "Star?" Beast Girl calls out. "Starblaze? Where are you?" She climbs down. "Come on! Gimme a sign here!" She starts to dig. "You have to be alright, okay? 'Cause I-it was just a joke, you know? Back at the Tower, and..." She trails off. "I'm sorry," she said. "I never said it, but I'm really, really sorry. It was supposed to be funny. And you could've been hurt, and..." Beast Girl trailed off.

She strains to lift a good-sized fragment and manages to get it clear of the pile. "...I'm a total clorbag," she finished softly. A tall shadow is thrown across her. It's Starblaze, with not so much as a scratch on him. Beast Girl turns around. "Huh?" The confused girl says.

Starblaze gives her a warm, forgiving smile that instantly perks her up. "Starblaze!" Beast Girl cried. Taking kitten form again, she jumps into his outstretched hands and he cuddles her to his chest**(1)**. Beast Girl looks up at Starblaze and meows happily. "I am glad you are unharmed as well," Starblaze says with a laugh. Beast Girl takes human form and kneels before him. "I am so sorry. You gotta forgive me," she says. "I already have," Starblaze says, helping Beast Girl up. "Now those evil sisters must be made to apologize." "I don't think they are evil," Beast Girl says. "I think they're just like me."

In a clearing in the mountains outside Jump City, a few scarecrow-like dummies have been set up, consisting of two crossed tree limbs with a blanket wrapped around them. Some characters have been painted on the cloth. Across the area, more such dummies have been set up, and the sorcerer stands among them. "Sticks and leaves?" An annoyed Lightning asks. "Is this a joke? There is no fun in blasting such frail targets!"

"Are you certain, young mistress?" The sorcerer asked. "Try. You may like what you see**(2)**." The young mistress in question groans and throws a bolt at one of dummies; it instantly catches fire and makes her rethink her opinion of the whole exercise. "Dancing lights!" Lightning exclaimed. "Pleasing."

"Let Thunder try her hand," Thunder said. She stepped toward and throws a blast, causing the thing to disappear in a small explosion and a great clap of sound. "Wondrous noise!" Thunder exclaimed. "See, sister? There is no harm in our fun," Lightning said. "And there is much more fun to be had," the sorcerer said.

The two thrill-seekers grin at each other. Lightning flies across the clearing, blasting one target after another, and Thunder leaps high and slams a fist against the ground to open a furrow. A target at the end of it lights up, followed by several others when she redirects her efforts. Now both sisters work in tandem and turn one target after another into blazing torches. They finally stop their assault and back up to the sorcerer. "More targets, old one!" Lightning demanded. "Yes, please, give us more," Thunder said.

"That won't be necessary," the sorcerer said. "You've done quite enough." He produces a metal disc from underneath his robes. It bears a character, Chinese in appearance, that looks something like a stylized letter S. The sorcerer scales the object over the clearing as Thunder and Lightning watch, totally baffled. It stops high in the sky and spins in place; electricity crackles around it as it picks up speed, culminating in a mighty orange flash.

It is suspended over the burning target as rays of light shoot down to strike every last one. Beams of orange light start to play between them and just miss the two puzzled sisters. These have traced out a large, rough humanoid shape on the ground, with a final wide beam from above touching the heart area. When the light show stops, the outline starts to burn intensely; the sorcerer holds up a staff topped with the same character that was on the disc he threw.

"Rise," the sorcerer said. The apparition does so with an unearthly screeching noise. It has that character engraved on its forehead. "Burn, Fire!" The sorcerer exclaims, "burn it all!" It starts down the mountainside toward the city proper, but stops upon finding the Titans some distance away. "Didn't anyone ever tell you?" Robyn asked. "Play with fire, you're going to get burned**(3)**."

The beast swings a flaming forearm at the team, forcing them to scatter. Robyn looks up from the duck-and-cover position she has assumed and sees Fire pushing trees aside and making its way toward Jump City. Smoke and flames billow in its wake. The sorcerer waves the fumes aside with his staff.

"Good," he says. "Very good." Thunder and Lightning cannot believe what they have just had a hand in unleashing. "Sister, what have we done?" The former asked. The thing continues down the mountain.

Fire stalks on toward the city. The Titans chase it. "Titans! Go!" Robyn yells. She pulls even with the creature on foot while Revan does likewise in the air. Pulling a couple of grenades from her belt, she throws them at its feet; they throw up a wall of smoke when they blow. Revan flies through it all. "Flames can't spread if there's nothing to burn," he says. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" His spell uproots several trees.

"Good idea, Revan," Robyn said. "Beast Girl! Starblaze! Help him out!" These two put on a burst of speed, and Beast Girl turns into a buffalo to deliver a crushing headbutt against the base of a tree. It topples into a row of others and brings them all down. Meanwhile, Starblaze takes up a position high above the boughs; he throws a star-bolt that blows another clump of old growth to matchwood.

Her cannon at the ready, Cyber leaps toward Fire and lets go with a terrific when she lands. It skims the ground and throws up a wall of dirt in the beast's face. It takes some time for the view to begin to clear. Fire is nowhere in sight among the dust clouds. Beast Girl is in human form again. "Is he out?" Beast Girl asked.

In answer to her question, Fire stands up, still blazing and now roaring mad. "You had to ask," Revan said. As it screeches some more, Robyn runs up for a closer look. Up the slope to one side, standing on a stone outcropping, is the sorcerer. He grins maliciously. Robyn is starting to put it all together. Thunder and Lightning stand behind the sorcerer. "Go, young mistresses," he said. "Fire is your creation. They have no right to destroy your fun."

"Yes!" Lightning exclaimed. "We must fight!" "But, sister-" "Do not annoy me with your foolish concerns!" Lightning exclaimed, cutting Thunder off. "Come!" The blue sister thinks it over for a moment, and both of them disappear in a flash of lightning. The sorcerer turns away from the spot where they stood and spreads his arms; he starts to laugh in triumph, but it dies on his lips as he hears Robyn's yell in the distance.

The Titans' leader sails across the clearing and lands a flying kick that sends the staff flying. It sticks in the ground, walking end down, and Robyn lands next to it. However, the thing pulls loose and sails back into the old man's hand. The tense seconds pass as the two face off; finally the sorcerer breaks the silence, his voice starting to take on a tone similar to that used by Slade. "Robyn," he said. "We meet at last."

"Who are you?!" Robyn demanded. There is no answer, except for a charge with staff raised for a swing. Robyn meets it by hurling herself at the enemy as Fire moves closer to the city.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Revan said. This time, he has targeted the creature itself. The stream of black energy pouring from his hands breaks against the giant's form and stops it in its tracks. When he relents, its flames have gone out, leaving the body black and smoking.

The surface begins to crack all over; finally the creature lights up again and Revan gasps in shock. It slams its fists together and creates a pyrotechnic shock wave that blasts away all the trees within several dozen yards. He is thrown back by the overpressure, as is Cyber.

She slams down, and Starblaze and Revan land and start to help her up. Before they can get her upright, though, a lightning bolt flashes down and knocks all three even farther away. The sisters descend to the clearing; Lightning warms up her hands and advances, while Thunder stays put and gets ready to attack.

Before she can throw that curveball, though, Beast Girl-as a tiger-steps into view before her. "Stand aside, green one!" Thunder exclaimed. Said green one just roars. They charge at each other, but before any blows can land, violet smoke boils up and covers the entire clearing.

When it clears, the girls find themselves in the middle of a bank of clouds in the same color as the smoke. Thunder is among them, but her body is largely in shadow. "I do not wish to harm you," Thunder says, in a slightly echoing voice. Beast Girl is also shown in shadow. "But you want to destroy homes and innocent lives?" she asked, her voice also echoing slightly.

"No," Thunder said. "Then what are you fighting for?" Beast Girl asked. "My sister and I...the old one says we are unique, gifted, better," Thunder replied. "Gifts don't make you better," Beast Girl said, "just different. It's _how_ you use them that counts." Thunder turns this over in her mind a bit.

Meanwhile, Lightning is still fighting the boys. "It seems your power has its limits," she said, holding up a sparking hand. "But mine has none." She is standing over the unconscious Starblaze and getting ready to light him up like a Christmas tree-but before she can do so, a blast from Thunder plows her away. Starblaze comes to and looks in the direction of the shot.

Thunder pushes over a charred tree as she steps up, and Lightning gets to her feet. "You betray me?!" Lightning yells, warming up her powers. "We have done wrong, my sister," Thunder said. "Our fun must stop." Lightning is still warming up her powers. "No commands Lightning," she yelled. "Not even Thunder!" She throws a wide beam; the impact sends Thunder tumbling among the trees.

Robyn and the sorcerer, meanwhile, continue their melee as the mountain burns all around them. Slowly but steadily, the young Titan retreats downhill before her attacker's swings. Soon, though, she holds her ground and blocks one strike after another, then sidesteps when the upper end of the staff is jabbed at her. It hits a tree and sends up a wisp of smoke as if it were a red-hot branding iron. The sorcerer grimaces down at her.

Fire continues its inexorable advance towards the lower houses as the other four Titans gather to watch. Beast Girl is back in human form. "Those houses go, the whole city could go," Cyber said. "We gotta stop the fire." "How," Revan asked. "Any way we can," Cyber said. They run down the slope.

Lightning throws a bolt at Thunder from the air. The electricity washes over her and hurls her back against a wall of rock. Thunder slides down to a sitting position and groans wearily. Looking up, she finds her sister standing over her and ready to unleash a king-size shock at point-blank range. "Tell me, sister, are we still having fun?" Thunder asked.

Lightning's conscience gets to her. "No," she said, turning off her powers. "Observe," Thunder said, pointing to the battle between the Titans and Fire. The latter is hit in the face with a sudden torrent of water, accompanied by an elephant's trumpeting. Revan is casting a spell to hold the flames back, Beast Girl-as the pachyderm-is spraying water from her trunk, and Cyber has opened a fire hydrant. Starblaze descends among them.

"They also have gifts," Thunder said, "but they use them for good, while we waste ours on dangerous fun." She puts her hand on Lightning's shoulder. "If we are so special, sister, let us act special. We must help," Thunder said. "But how?" Lightning asked. "Our gifts can only destroy."

"True," Thunder said. "But together we have another gift." They are gone in a flash of light, ascending into the cloud cover. When they have vanished from sight, a blast of lightning is seen from within. The four Titans find themselves staring at a mountain in flames and a walking inferno that has not let up one bit despite their best efforts. It towers over them and roars.

Thunder strikes the clouds with her sticks and Lightning directs her hands here and there, producing the same effects as before. The glare plays over both of them and a driving rain begins-the result of combining their talents. At ground level, Fire looks up in alarm at the downpour, then screams in agony as its flames go out in a thick wall of brown smoke. When the view clears, there is nothing left but a few piles of ashes. All the Titans but Revan cheer wildly; Beast Girl is in human form.

Up on the mountain, the sorcerer has caught the front of Robyn's tunic and hoisted her up. The former's tone of voice is now unmistakeable. "Robyn," the sorcerer says. "Is that the best you can do?" There is a tremendous flash of lightning that whites out the entire view.

When it subsides, the view is at ground level; Robyn drops into a crouch, free of the man's grasp. The robed figure has thrown up an arm to guard his face; he brings it down after a moment, revealing it to have been only a mask that was damaged in the strike.

Most of the left side has fallen away, and underneath is a smooth expanse of red-orange metal with a narrow slit for the eye. The last remaining pieces come loose to fully expose that half of Slade's still-concealed face-the first time that any of it has been seen.

Robyn gasps in shock and stares, frozen in place-and after a long moment, the mastermind disappears in a blast of smoke. The view clears to show the metal disc he threw into the air to bring Fire to life. Robyn regards it thoughtfully, then picks it up for a closer look. "Slade," she whispers.

The Titans continue to celebrate. Beast Girl has her tongue out to catch the raindrops. "Ah, yeah!" she exclaims with a laugh. "That's what I mean!" Cyber exclaimed. "Very nice!" Beast Girl turns away from the street and sees Thunder and Lightning coming down from the mountain. She crosses to them. Lightning looks away, showing very clearly that she would rather be doing anything else right now.

"I am sorry for all the trouble we made," Thunder said, bowing. She nudges Lightning, who faces forward. "I am..." Lightning said, also bowing, "also sorry." Thunder and Beast Girl shake hands. "You have taught us so much, green one," Thunder said. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Beast Girl said. She gestures to Starblaze; he steps forward. "Thank the person who taught me," Beast Girl finished. Starblaze and the sisters bow to each other. "And thank you for helping to defeat the flame monster," he said.

It is now sunrise of the next day, the clouds have broken, and a rainbow stretches up from the horizon behind the Tower. The entire team is on a ridge overlooking Jump City. Robyn hands Slade's talisman to Cyber so she can give it a looking over. "So, Slade wants to destroy the city," Cyber said. "Question is, why?"

"I don't know," Robyn said. "But I will find out-and he won't get away with it." Beast Girl comes up behind Starblaze. "So...am I, you know...still a clorbag?" she asked. "Mmm-no," he said. "I believe you are more of a...milnip wusserloop."

Not being too fluent in Tamaranean, she does not what to make of this label for a moment. Bewilderment quickly gives way to a big grin, though.

"SWEET!" Beast Girl exclaimed, dancing around. "I'm a milnip! Who's your wusserloop? Huh?" She stops dancing; for a moment, her eyes have stars in them.

"That's a good thing...right, Star?" A puzzled Beast Girl asks. The Tamaranean just chuckles and goes airborne to get home. Revan follows him, while Robyn and Cyber start running. The green Titan is left standing by herself. "Star?" She asks again, before sprinting after the others.

**I'm just spouting these out.**

**(1)- If Robyn had saw that, she would've had a fit. Then mentally kicked herself for having a fit.**

**(2)- Why did he say that?**

**(3)- What was that!? That was the dumbest one-liner you have ever said Robyn!**


	5. Nevermore

It is nighttime in Jump City. A vehicle can be seen turned on its side in the distance. A figure stands atop it, and a couple of Titans are facing off with her. They are Cyber, Starblaze, and Robyn, and the vehicle is an armored car whose back doors have been broken open. Gold bullion spills out to the pavement.

The helmeted female figure perched on it is clad in a skintight black outfit with a light bulb on the chest, and both hands glow very brightly. This is Dr. Light. "Your pathetic skills can't outshine the brilliance of Dr. Light!" she exclaims.

She brings her hands together; the Titans scatter as a broad beam shoots toward them. Robyn leaps high and flings a birdarang at the super-villainess, who jumps down to avoid both of it and the thrower's lunge. "You're fast," Dr. Light said, "but I doubt you'll enjoy moving at the speed of light!"

She touches the bulb on his chest, causing it to glow and emit a wide-angle blast that propels Robyn over the roof of a nearby building. Beast Girl comes around a corner and charges, turning into a wolf as she runs. The robber easily ducks this rush.

"A wolf is no threat when it's blind as a bat!" Dr. Light exclaimed. She throws several glowing globes at the green lupine heroine. They explode in a series of brilliant flashes and leave her so dazzled that she reverts to human form and claps both hands to her head woozily.

The next one in is Starblaze, who flies overhead and throws a barrage of star-bolts; Dr. Light creates a radiant shield around herself to block them. She drops it after he stops firing, then throws a landmine-like device into the street. Its top opens to emit a wall of radiation that envelops Starblaze and blocks him in.

"Watch yourself, lightweight," Cyber said. She has half of one axle from the car in hand, tire and all, and she moves in for a swing. "Things are about to get heavy!" Cyber exclaimed. She swings the axle down over her head, missing the enemy but creating enough of a tremor upon impact to throw her back a few feet.

Dr. Light concentrates her energy in one hand and projects an intense beam that breaks the makeshift club in half. Laughing, she creates a red projectile and directs it at Cyber; it explodes in a terrific flash and storm of dust. The view clears to show that the Titan is now embedded in stone, with only her head and hands free.

"Uh! Hey!" Cyber exclaimed. "Let me..." she trailed off as Dr. Light approached. "Now if nobody minds, I'll be taking the gold," she said. "I mind," Revan said. He is floating in midair. "Azarath, Metrion, Zin-" Before he can finish the incantation, a beam connects squarely with him and sends him to the street.

Dr. Light walks up behind Revan as he starts to get up. "Bit of advice," Dr. Light said, warming up. "Find shorter magic words." He gets himself ready again; a motorcycle at the curb is levitated and slung at the light-wielding enemy, who easily blows it apart.

Dr. Light nails Revan with another blast and drives him down the block again. Now she takes her time walking up; he has his back to her. "Don't come any closer," Revan said menacingly. Dr. Light stops. "What's the matter?" she asks in a taunting manner. "Afraid of the light?"**(1)**

Snarling with pure rage, Revan swirls to his feet. His eyes are glowing red rather than the usual white when he uses his powers. He grows to an impossible height, at least three times as tall as Dr. Light, and thick black tendrils shoot toward her from under his cloak. Dr. Light cries out in shock.

"No! No!" She exclaimed, fearfully backing up. Dr. Light is seized and pulled in; sparks fly from her. "My suit!" she cried. "What are you-" a small pause, "no, stop, you win, I surrender!" Too late. Dr. Light is dragged toward the billowing blue hem as Revan smiles viciously down at her. "What's the matter?" He asks; it sounds as like a demonic being is speaking along with him. "Afraid of the dark?"**(2)**

"I surrender!" Dr. Light screamed as she is pulled in. "NOOOOO!" Robyn rushes over. "REVAN!" She shouted. "STOP!" Revan's eyes return to normal in a snap. He gasps sharply and shrinks back to normal size; his cloak recedes to reveal the beaten enemy curled up in a fetal position on the pavement and shivering in wide-eyed fear. Robyn and Starblaze, out of his trap, run to comfort her.

"It's okay. You're going to be alright," Robyn said. "It was...no...so dark...make it stop...make it stop..." Dr. Light stuttered. Beast Girl and Cyber, free of the pavement, approach Revan. "Dude!" the green teen exclaimed. "Revan, what did you do?" When Revan turns to face her, his eyes have again gone red and he is snarling as before.

Beast Girl backs up behind Cyber with a scream; Revan quickly composes himself and stalks away. "What's his deal?" Beast Girl asked. Revan enters a dark alley and is soon lost to sight.

It is now the next day. "Rise and shine, amigos," Beast Girl says. She is cooking at the kitchen counter while Cyber, Starblaze, and Robyn are at the table. She has donned a chef's hat. "Breakfast is served," she says, carrying a steaming pan over. "Thanks, Beast Girl," Robyn says. "Everything looks great." Beast Girl sets the pan down. "On my planet, such a feast would mark the arrangement of a marriage," Starblaze said. "Tell me, Beast Girl, to whom are you engaged?"**(3)**

Not quite ready to deal with a curveball like that so early in the day, Beast Girl shouts in surprise and jumps back. She has to catch her hat in order to keep it from flying across the room. Cyber, meanwhile, has started wolfing down a plateful of food. When she finishes, her expression changes to resemble that of a person who has just eaten a skunk**(4)**. She spits the meal out disgustedly.

"That's not eggs!" Cyber shouted. "That's that tofu stuff!" She drains her glass to get the taste out of her mouth-but instead her whole head ends up looking as if it might explode. The drink goes the way of the food. "That's not even real milk!" Cyber exclaimed.

Beast Girl gives her a reproving frown as the door opens and Revan enters the kitchen. He pays no mind to the breakfast table and heads for the counter. "Hey Revan," Robyn said. "Want breakfast?" Revan picked up the coffeepot and poured a cup. Beast Girl popped up behind him with a full plate. "It's good," she said. "Wakey-wakey, tofu eggs and bakey."

"Herbal tea," Revan said. "Come on, just one little taste," Beast Girl urged. "You could use a little food after the way you cooked Dr. Light." Revan then whirls to face her, his eyes blazing red. "NO!" He yelled.

The cook gasps in fear as Revan exerts his powers on the plate she holds. The eggs explode like a volcano, leaving Beast Girl covered with her own cuisine. She makes a strangled little noise and drops the plate; Revan turns away and leaves through the side door, which closes behind him. Beast Girl stands there, holding then pan of food, as a vein throbs in her temple and Robyn eases over.

"Maybe you should go apologize," she suggested. "Me?" Beast Girl asked. "I'm not the one who just turned breakfast into a battlefield!" Cyber joins them carrying her dishes. "Yeah, but after the weirdness that went down last night, you should know better than to go messing with him," she said, heading for the sink.

"I was trying to be nice," Beast Girl said as Starblaze came over. "But no matter how hard I try, he still treats me like tofu eggs!" Cyber begins to wash dishes. "You know, he's never once laughed at any of my jokes."

"'Least he listens," Cyber said. "I just kinda tune you out." A little storm cloud appears briefly over the disgruntled green Titan's head. "Revan is complicated," Starblaze said. "There is much about him we are meant to understand."

"Then how are we supposed to deal with him?" Beast Girl asked. "How can we even trust him? I mean-" "He's our friend," Robyn said, cutting Beast Girl off. "What more do we need to know?" The green teen puts the mental machinery to work trying to sort this one out.

Later that day, Beast Girl stood before a closed door and scratched her head. After a few seconds she gingerly raises one fist, turns her head away as if ready to avoid a sudden explosion, and just barely taps the door. "Oh, well," she said with a shrug, "nobody's home."

She starts away, whistling. Suddenly she runs flat into Cyber, who has come up just behind her, and rubs her hurt nose. "Ow," Beast Girl moans. Cyber glares down at her. "You might want to knock a little louder," the metallic teen says. This is Revan's door, then. The big Titan plants a hand on the little one's shoulder, turns her to face the door, and walks her to it. A little shudder of fear comes from Beast Girl.

Cyber knocks, much louder than her colleague's feeble attempt; on the third and final knock, the entire door falls in, illuminating the view and exposing the girls in the hall. Cyber has smashed the door of the hinges**(5)**. Both faces go slack as a big drop of sweat rolls down Cyber's temple. "Now we both have to apologize," Beast Girl said.

Revan's room proves beyond any doubt that his tastes are about as dark as they come. Shelves filled with old books, four-eyed tragedy and comedy masks on a pedestal, oddly shaped mirror on the wall, chalices and braziers, ancient chests and lamps, a bed partly recessed into the far wall, a large globe in the near corner. The entire place is done in shades of gray and black.

"Uh, Revan?" Cyber called out. "Sorry about the door. Revan?" Beast Girl rolled her eyes. "Dude, he's not here. Come on," she said. She walked in and reached the bookshelves and masks. "Looks like Halloween came early this year," Beast Girl commented. "We're in Revan's room," Cyber whispered, walking in as well. "We should not be in Revan's room**(6)**. He doesn't let anybody in here-ever!"

"So this is our big chance to find out more about him," Beast Girl said. She crosses the room. "For instance..." She laughs and picks up a hand mirror, studying her image. "...check out this vanity mirror. Who woulda thought Revan spends time sprucing? Ah! Is that a zit?**(7)**"

Beast Girl pokes at a spot on her cheek. Suddenly two pairs of glowing red eyes, one above the other, superimpose themselves on her image in the mirror. They clear to leave her gasping in shock, and she drops the mirror and backs up with a cry of fear.

A red-rimmed swath of black energy shoots straight up from the object, shapes itself into an arm, and grabs Beast Girl. She is shaken back and forth as Cyber pays no mind, having reached the doorway and made ready to leave. "Come on, B," she said, "we should really get out-" Beast Girl is yanked away. "-huh?"

The mirror is on the floor, and the arm protrudes from it. "Yo!" Cyber yells. The arm starts to drag Beast Girl down, but Cyber is there in one swift leap to grab an ankle. Both Titans are yanked through the looking glass, which returns to its normal appearance and gives off a small puff of smoke.

The room changes to a patch of outer space filled with red stars and a few large asteroids; a vortex opens over one of them and dumps the two Titans, screaming, onto its surface. They stand up just in time to watch it close.

"Oh, man!" Cyber said. "I told you we shouldn't have gone in his room," Beast Girl said**(8)**. "Uh...where are we?" She walked around. "You're asking the wrong robot," Cyber said. "My sensors must be on the blink, 'cause they're saying we're in Titans Tower."

"Riiiight," Beast Girl said. "So how do we get back?" There was a pause. "Guess we start walking," Cyber said. "Come on. I'm serious," Beast Girl said. "We're on a rock in the middle of-"

The sound of something large shifting cuts her off. In the middle of the void, several fragments of rock rearrange themselves to form a winding path. "Oh," Beast Girl said. They set out. "If sending us to Weirdsville's Revan's idea of a joke," Beast Girl continued, "I am so not laughing."

"Hey, he didn't send us here," Cyber said. "You're the one who went snooping in his room and popping zits in his magic mirror." A raven sits on a tree branch. Like that strange reflection, it has two pairs of red eyes. Back to the two Titans. "Who booby-traps a mirror?" Beast Girl asked. "Maybe it wasn't a trap," Cyber suggested. "Maybe it's Revan's way home. Maybe this is where he's from."

"Definitely creepy enough," Beast Girl remarked. "Turn back," a voice said. It was masculine and childlike. Both girls pivot for a look behind them, trying to locate the speaker. "Like I was saying..." Beast Girl started again. "Turn back."

Three small black birds are perched on a rocky arch over the path. Each of them have a pair of large red eyes. One at a time, they repeat the two-word instruction. "Sweet!" Beast Girl exclaimed. The birds continue their chant. "Betcha they can tell us how to get home."

Beast Girl passes Cyber. "Careful," the latter says. "How do we know they're not a threat?" Beast Girl reaches the arch. "Hel-lo? Remember me? Beast Girl?" Beast Girl said. "If they were dangerous, I'd know." Cyber is not a bit convinced that this girl knows what she is doing. Said girl turns to the arch and adopts the sort of tone one might use with a small kitten. "Hey, little guys," Beast Girl said. "My buddy and I were wondering if-"

The birds are not on the arch anymore. Then five of them have gathered at Beast Girl's feet. They all repeat "Turn back" over and over again. The beaks suddenly elongate and sprout small sharp teeth, and each eye splits into two smaller ones to match the raven seen earlier.

Their snarls are met with a surprised cry from Beast Girl, who turns and runs smack into Cyber; the former tumbles out of view while the latter crashes down on the stones. The birds, now multiplied into a flock of ravens, fly past Cyber and zero in on the skidding shape-shifter.

She turns into a hippopotamus and opens wide, and three of them perch on her tongue. Snap go the jaws; the prey squirms inside, and after a moment she has to open her mouth again and shake them off-they have clamped their beaks onto the lingual muscle. Cyber, faring no better, shouts as she tries to beat off the attackers.

"Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!" She runs away; they follow. "Cut it out!" Back and forth they go. Beast Girl, as an ostrich, followed by Cyber, then the flock**(9)**. The flock, dodging a sonic cannon shot, then Cyber riding Beast Girl in llama form and firing away.

One dodges a few shots and buzzes past Cyber; she hunches down over her mount and fires another round. The creature then flies low, and in response Cyber growls and blasts straight down at it. Fractured by the energy, the stone path starts to crumble away; the two Titans trade the 'uh-oh' look and Beast Girl's ears droop sadly just before they drop out of sight.

Cyber has one hand buried in Beast Girl's pelt and the other dug into the broken rock. She starts to haul the green animal up, but a very familiar voice stops her cold-not so much the speaker, but the tone. "Hey, guys," Revan said cheerfully.

On the underside of the path, Revan can be seen from the knees down. However, his boots and cloak are cerise rather than the usual pigment blue, and the cloak does not hang down as it would if a person stood on their head. Revan is hanging upside down with no ill effects whatsoever, and he waved. His wristbands have also gone cerise.

"What's up?" Cerise Revan asked. "I don't know anymore," Cyber said in a small voice. The void turns 180 degrees to put Revan right side up and the two interlopers upside down. "Whoa!" Cyber exclaims as she and Beast Girl slam down onto the path. Cerise Revan laughs as the latter stands up, back in human form. "Revan?!" Beast Girl exclaimed. "How did-where are-what just-" A question mark pops up by her head. "-why are you wearing pink?"

"'Cause it's my favorite color," Cerise Revan said, laughing. "It is?" Beast Girl inquired. Cyber gets up. "Look," the metallic teen said, "I'd love to talk fashion, but I don't suppose you know how to get home." Both girls looked at Cerise Revan. "The Forbidden Door," he said, pointing to the rest of the path, which ran under a couple of other arches and stops at a distant asteroid.

"It's the only way out," Cerise Revan said, "but you don't want to go there." He looks at the two girls. "Not now." Beast Girl and Cyber look at each other, then back at Cerise Revan. "Uh...yeah, we do," they said in unison. "'Kay," CRevan replied. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Making airplane sounds and stretching his arms out like wings, CRevan ran through the nearest arch and down the path. "Have you ever seen him this happy?" Cyber asked. "Dude, I didn't even know Revan could _do_ happy," Beast Girl replied.

A stone arch springs over a peaceful-looking landscape under a bright yellow sky. The two girls walk under it. "Now where are we?" Cyber asked. A path goes on and on, threading through that arch and bisecting a huge meadow filled with cerise grass and trees.

A small strawberry floats past the two extremely bewildered Titans. "I think this might be where air fresheners come from," Beast Girl said. CRevan then walks over to them, chuckling. "Good one!" he exclaimed. "You're laughing?" Cyber asked. "At one of my jokes?" Beast Girl asked.

"Sure," CRevan replied. "I've always thought you were funny, BG. But hey, looks aren't everything." Laughing even harder now, he takes his leave of them.

Back at Titans' Tower, Robyn and Starblaze are talking to Revan. "Revan..." Robyn says. The pale boy is meditating on the roof. "...you okay?" Robyn asked. "We stopped by your room and the door's been knocked down." She and Starblaze come up behind him.

All of a sudden, Revan's eyes pop open, wide as saucers, and he laughs uncontrollably for a few seconds. The sound scares the other two Titans out of their wits; he cuts it off by clapping both hands over his mouth. "Need to be alone," Revan said, blushing profusely. He stands up and hurries to the door leading to the stairs/elevator. "Many of your Earthly ways are still strange to me," Starblaze said to Robyn, "but that was...just plain freaky. Correct?"

Revan looks in and walks through the wrecked door into his room. He puts the wall back in order with an easy motion of his hand. Walking in a bit further, he stops short at the vanity mirror on the floor. "No," Revan said, horrified.

Back in the pink meadow, a few four-eyed ravens have perched on a tree. Beast Girl and Cyber make their way along the path the runs on and on toward an arch that looks very much like the one the girls started at. "He ditched us!" the former exclaimed. "I can't believe Revan ditched us! Next time I see him, it's not gonna be pretty."

As she says this, the girls find themselves back in the outer-space region they were in before. They are back on the winding stone path. "Hey, I know where we are!" Cyber exclaimed. "We're in that place where I didn't know where we were before!"**(10)**

Revan suddenly pops up in front of the girls, his back turned to them, and startles the living day lights out of them. His cloak is now dark gray; he has a very sad and fearful facial expression. "Where were you?!" Beast Girl shouted furiously. Her head flushes an angry red, with a vein standing out on her temple. "Shopping for robes?!" Suddenly, DGRevan starts to cry. The two girls are shocked. "Whoa. Easy," Beast Girl said, trying to console him. "I didn't mean it. Please don't-"

"Hey!" Cyber exclaimed, catching the two teens' attentions. She points ahead down the path toward the asteroid at the end; they are closer now. "That's that Forbidden Door, right, Revan?" the cybernetic teen asked. The pale boy nodded worriedly; Cyber starts to run. "Come on, y'all! We're almost-"

Suddenly, a high metal wall springs up from the stone surface to block her rush. "Whoa!" Cyber exclaimed. More walls emerge to box in the trio. A large maze has assembled itself here, filling much of the stretch leading to the asteroid. Beast Girl turns into a hawk and flies up toward the open top of the labyrinth.

Just as she is about to surmount the walls, a force field crackles to life and sends her crashing to the ground. She sits up in human form and rubs her head. "Great," Beast Girl muttered as Cyber breaks out her cannon. "Oh, man," she says, "we gotta get outta here!" Cyber fires a few bursts at the walls, but does not even put a scratch on them.

DGRevan speaks up for the first time; his voice matches his expression perfectly. "It's a maze," he said. "You can't get out. You have to go through. I can show you the way, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore." DGRaven looked at Beast Girl. "She already doesn't like me."

"Come on," Beast Girl said. "That's not..." He had already started down the way. The two girls stare after him with a fair bit of irritation. "Gee, Revan," Beast Girl muttered, "moody much?" Cyber nodded. "Yeah, he's like a whole different person," she said.

DGRevan's voice could be heard from around a corner before he walks into view. "And...remember the time I called you both immature pinheads?" he asked the girls. "I'm sorry for that too. And also the-" Beast Girl and Cyber round the corner.

"For the hundredth, millionth time..." they shouted in unison, "...we forgive you!" DGRevan has stopped at a wall. He waves timidly toward it, and it slides open like a pair of interlocking doors to reveal a short path that leads out of the maze. Two tall stone statues positioned to either side. They wear long cloaks and have faces that match the masks in Revan's room. Each has only one arm, on the side toward the wall next to it.

"That's the end," DGRevan said. "Sweet!" Beast Girl exclaimed. "All right, Revan!" Cyber shouted. The girls head for e egress, but DGRevan does not join them. The eyes of the smiling statue glow red, followed by those of the frowning one, and they slam together back to back. Three quick half-turns put the smile in view, then the frown, the the smile again. Long swords materialize in the statues' hands, and the double sculpture has now grown a second set of arms.

"What?!" Cyber yelled. "No way," Beast Girl said. Cyber groaned. "Told you you wouldn't like me when we got here," DGRevan said. He drops out of sight, but the girls have no time to worry about her-the stone giant is advancing towards them.

Robyn is flicking through TV channels. She turns to a monster movie, then to a cooking channel. She lounges on the couch while Starblaze paces behind her. Robyn changes the channel again; a Western starts up. "May we go see if he is feeling better?" the Tamaranean boy asks, referring to Revan. "He said he wanted to be alone," Robyn replied.

Cyber and Beast Girl back nervously along the end of the outer-space path. The sound of swords being drawn is heard, and here comes that sculpture guardian with both blades ready to go. As it bears down on them, Beast Girl becomes a hawk and flies away, and Cyber lets loose a blast from her cannon; that does no damage. A sword clangs down on the stone next to her.

The green hawk swoops down, talons extended, only to be caught in one of the two free hands and squeezed cruelly. It changes back into Beast Girl as Revan's voice is heard once again-but this time, she sounds radically different. "Yo! Eight-Eyes!" Revan launched a flying kick; his cloak is now green. "Hai-yah!" GRevan exclaimed. The kick slashes across the statue's head and sends it toppling to the ground.

"Whoo-hoo!" GRevan exclaimed. "In your faces!" He leaps at the foe, now back on its feet, and dodges one sword slash after another without changing the little smirk on his face. Up he goes, index and middle fingers of one hand extended together, and brings them straight down the length of the rock body, splitting it in half. The two halves drop away, leaving Cyber and Beast Girl staring in pure amazement at this new incarnation of their fellow Titan.

"Hoo-ah!" GRevan exclaimed, holding his hands up. "High fives! Come on!" Beast Girl stares a bit more, her jaw slack, and then shakes her head vigorously to clear it. "What is your deal?!" Beast Girl exclaimed. "First you nuke breakfast, then finally laugh at my jokes, then get all weepy, and now you're a Marine? Make up your mind. Who are you?"

Green Revan directs a quizzical look at Beast Girl as grinning Cerise leaps into sight and glum Dark Gray slinks up. "I'm Revan," all three Revans say in unison. Poleaxed by the sight, the green teen faints. "Happy...timid...brave," Cyber says. "You forgot dopey," Cerise Revan said, pointing at the fallen Beast Girl who is getting up.

He laughs, but Cyber is thinking very hard and starting to figure a few things out. "Different sides of Revan's personality," she said. "We're not in Revan's home." "We're in his head," Beast Girl finished. "And I want you out." Normal Revan drops into view in front of the Cerise, Dark Gray, and Green Revans, who fade away.

"The mirror you found is for meditation," Revan said. "It's a portal into my MIND-NOT A TOY!" The last four words are aimed at Beast Girl and spoken through gritted teeth. A big sweat drop rolls down the green teen's face. "My bad," Beast Girl said, chuckling. The ravens that were watching the three teens fly away in a great commotion of squawking and flapping wings. "You have to go," Revan said, "now."

"Hold up," Cyber said. "What's going on here?" She looked at Revan. "Last night, something...got loose. Something bad," he said. "Oh, no, you don't!" Beast Girl exclaimed. "I've had it with this mystery-boy routine. I want to know exactly what we're talking about here."

Suddenly, the teens heard an unholy roaring above them. A gargantuan black vortex has formed over the horizon; the ravens are flying into it. Out of the vortex comes a super-king-sized humanoid male with red skin, flowing white hair, and four glowing yellow eyes. He is clad in a black gray loincloth, steel wristbands, and a belt similar to the one Revan wears, as well as a jewel on his forehead. There are short, curved black stripes on the arms and chest.

This is Revan's father, the demon Trigon.

"Hatred shall rule," Trigon said. His voice is the same as the one overlaid with Revan's when he snared Dr. Light. Revan and the girls stare up at his sheer size. "Let's just say I have issues with my father," Revan said as all three teens were backing up. Trigon moves steadily ahead, leans down, and roars, throwing a scare into the teens.

Beast Girl and Cyber turn to run, but Revan holds his ground. A quadruple blast from those glowing eyes hits the ground just in front of him, forcing him to jump clear. Those enormous feet stomp down the path after Cyber and Beast Girl, who are making a beeline for a portal set into the base of a rock base of a rock formation-the Forbidden Door. A beam hits just in front of them and brings that plan to an abrupt halt. Revan faces Trigon.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" He creates a shield around himself, the girls, and the Door; daddy not-so-dearest unleashes another blast that cuts a long furrow in the stone as it races toward Revan. So much rock and dust is thrown up that no one can see whether Revan's barrier is holding.

Back at Titans' Tower, Robyn is still flipping channels. The TV shows a tropical waterfall, then a man and woman about to kiss. Robyn sits on the couch, remote in hand**(11)**. Starblaze pops up behind her. "May we now go see if Revan is better?" he asked. "He wants to be alone," the Girl Wonder replied**(12)**. Another flip brings jungle sounds from the TV's direction; irked, the Tamaranean teen turned away.

Trigon fires another eye beam. Revan's shield blocks it; it is indeed holding up. "Get out of my mind! Now!" Revan yells with great effort. The Door has now been filled with a whirlpool just like the one that carried the girls into this place to begin with.

"And leave you alone with that?!" Beast Girl yelled back. "Not gonna happen," Cyber said. "It's my problem," Revan said, "I'll deal with it. If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever." Pulling his hands back, Trigon produces a ball of energy between them and swings it forward to throw a mighty burst at his son. It breaches the shield, and a second shit blows it apart altogether.

There is a great cloud of dust, which clears to show Revan still on his feet, arms crossed to protect his head. He swings one hand behind him in a sudden lash of telekinesis. "Go!" Revan shouts at the girls. Beast Girl and Cyber are flung screaming toward the portal, but skid to a stop just short of its mouth.

Revan flew up toward Trigon's level and fired a black salvo from his hand, annoying Trigon enough to make him start trying to swat the pale boy down. Revan's evasive maneuvers make this a rather tougher prospect than it might seem at first; Trigon's next eye blast also hits nothing. The two girls just watch, then look at the exit, and finally trade a knowing look.

The free-for-all continues. Revan dodges Trigon's attempt to crush him between his palms and lands a shot on his father's chest. Revan prepares a shot behind Trigon's head, but he whirls and scores a direct hit that drops Revan like a rock. Trigon catches him-knocked senseless-in one broad hand. "Rage shall consume you," the red demon said.

"Yo!" Cyber yelled, catching Trigon's attention. She is standing on a mountain ledge and has her cannon locked and loaded. "Sounds like someone needs a time-out." Cyber's blast is blocked when the demon raises a forearm, but with the chest left wide open, a second shot finds its mark.

Trigon stumbles backward, letting go of Revan, and topples over the edge of the asteroid into empty space. Revan tumbles helplessly toward a high-speed hello with a granite slab, but Beast Girl, as a hawk, is diving down at top speed. Her talons close on his shoulder, and he starts to come around with a barely audible moan.

Beast Girl set Revan down safely, leaving him to fall to his knees with a small groan, and drops back next to him in human form. "You stayed?" Revan asked. "I thought you didn't like me." Beast Girl looked at him. "Thought you didn't like me," she replied. Revan smiled.

"Yo, I like both of you," Cyber said, grabbing their attention. "Now get your butts over here!" A growling Trigon rises slowly over the ridge behind her. He raises his arms. "Feel my fury!" Trigon roared. A four-pack of eye blasts blows up the ground at Cyber's feet and sends her diving for cover.

Revan and Beast Girl both take to the air-the latter as a pterodactyl-to continue the offensive and get backup from their partner's cannon. Cyber bobs and weaves through the barren landscape to dodge the blazing bursts and returns fire as she is able. The last round gets Trigon good and mad; he leans down to hit the cybernetic teen point-blank.

Before he can deliver that finishing stroke, though, Trigon yells in surprise as his head is pulled backward. Beast Girl has wrapped her talons around Trigon's mane of white hair and started hauling back with all her strength. Trigon is dragged off balance to crash down among the rocky peaks, but is soon sitting up to shoot at Beast Girl, who flies away.

Back at the Tower, Robyn is still sitting on the couch, and Starblaze is still trying to persuade her to get up to check on Revan. Starblaze once again eases his head up behind the Girl Wonder. The sound of a baseball game comes from the TV's direction. "May we now-" "No!" Robyn shouts, cutting him off. Starblaze leaves with a groan while Robyn continues to flip channels.

Cyber is on the run from Trigon's fusillade. Beast Girl flies overhead and picks her up as Revan passes them both. The scarlet leviathan waves away the dust, looks around a bit, and moves away. The teens are huddled behind a small ridge; Beast Girl is human again. "He's too strong," Revan said. "Even with your help, I cannot defeat him."

"So call for back-up!" Cyber exclaimed. "What about all those other yous?" "Yeah," Beast Girl said, "the green one kinda kicked butt." Revan shook his head. "It still wouldn't be enough," he said. "None of my other sides have the kind of power we need."

"Not alone-but what about together?" Beast Girl asked. Trigon's footsteps approach. "They're all part of who you are, right?" Beast Girl asked. Dust floats down around the trio. Cyber peeks over the ridge and sees the demonic figure nearby. A couple of eye blasts send the Titan ducking back behind the rocks. "Go for it!" Cyber said. "We got your back!"

Beast Girl gives Revan an encouraging nod and runs after Cyber to assist in the diversion. A small smile crosses his face and then disappears as he closes his eyes and begins to concentrate.

Opening his eyes, Revan crosses his arms in front of himself. A sudden gust of wind stirs the dust at his feet, and his duplicates rise from the ground. There are no fewer than six Revans in cloaks of cerise, dark gray, green, yellow, brown, and purple. Yellow Revan wears glasses, perhaps representing his cerebral aspect. Well after the arrival of this group, a seventh alter ego pops up, clad in an orange cloak. He digs something out of his ear**(13)**, opens his eyes sleepily, and burps-Revan's lazy side.

They scatter, forming a large circle around the original Revan. All eight rise into the air and hover several feet above the ground, and the seven doubles start to spin about his center point, faster and faster until they are visible only as colorful blurs. The formation gradually turns white, sucking up a little grit due to the airspeed, and nothing is visible because of the brilliance-except for Revan's form, which can be seen fuzzily in the center.

Meanwhile, Trigon is still fighting Beast Girl and Cyber, the latter firing her cannon at will. Trigon counters with a storm of bird apparitions from his hand; Beast Girl turns into a pterodactyl again and takes to the air. Cyber is quickly beset by the flapping things and loses control of her shots.

The giant smiles evilly down at the cybernetic teen and does not notice Revan rising behind his own head-the boy's tightly wrapped cloak now pure white. Trigon swivels to look Revan full in the face, and the wind blows the latter's garment open to reveal that his outfit is also white instead of its usual black.

White Revan hurls a mass of black energy, which forms itself into a band that encircles Trigon tightly from shoulders to waist. The boy's next words take on a very deep and terrible tone. "You are going back where you belong!" White Revan shouted. "Never!" Trigon exclaimed.

The red demon breaks loose of the empath's binding spell. White Revan rises into the air, arms crossed in front, and his eyes and mouth start to blaze with the same dark force that pours from his hands. Trigon sends two huge beams from his hands toward White Revan. The two energies meet at a point between them and cancel out; it becomes a tug-of-war, with the balance point shifting back and forth between them.

Beast Girl, back in human form, and Cyber have their hands full trying to keep those birds from pecking them to mush, but they disappear.

The standoff between White Revan and Trigon continues, with the former slowly gaining ground. One final groaning effort sends the boy's beam surging into his father's face; there is an incredible flash when it hits, and the view clears to show that Trigon has turned into copy of Revan, with red eyes and a dark red cloak.

Red Revan drops to the ground in front of the white-clad real thing, revealing himself to be perhaps a foot tall, and raises his head to expose two pairs of those glowing eyes. His body disintegrates into a bolt of energy that crackles into White Revan's, throwing him into an unbearable rictus.

One final flash leaves the area filled with smoke, which clears to show only the Titans standing on a rock-back in his normal blue cloak and bowed as if he has just taken the beating of a lifetime. As he straightens up, the wind reveals his black outfit beneath. A moment later, he moans weakly and collapses backwards only to be caught by Cyber and Beast Girl.

"We gotcha," Cyber says. "It's okay," Beast Girl says. They set him on his feet; he blushes. "Thank you...friends," Revan says, rubbing his head. "So...we really are friends?" Beast Girl asks. Revan nods, a small smile on his face. "Mmm-hmm," he replied. "And you really think I'm funny?" She asks. Revan's smile fades. "Don't push it," he says.

Back to the Tower; it is now nighttime. Starblaze has his hand raised, straining toward a door to knock, with Robyn's fingers wrapped around his arm to pull it back. "Please!" he exclaims. "Let us simply-" She pulls him back. "Revan asked us not to disturb him!" she exclaims.

They are outside the door to Revan's room.

"He could be weeping and-"

"I don't want to bother him!"

"But if we merely-"

The door opens. Starblaze relaxes with a gasp and smiles, and Robyn tumbles backward to the floor. Cyber, Beast Girl, and Revan are standing in the doorway. Robyn gets to her feet. "Where have you guys been?" she asks. "Just getting to know each other," Cyber replied. Revan smiles and blushes. "Come, friends," Starblaze said. "We shall prepare a new breakfast feast."

"It's a little late for breakfast, Star," Beast Girl says. "Maybe just some herbal tea."

"Actually, breakfast sounds...nice," Revan says. Beast Girl is caught off guard momentarily by his change of eating habits, but she quickly smiles as stars flash briefly in her eyes. "Breakfast for dinner?" she asked. "Coming up!" She runs off; Cyber goes after her.

"Oh, no!" She said. "I'm cooking this time! We're having real eggs!"

**I think I'm cheating since I have this on a different website.**

**(1): You shouldn't have done that.**

**(2): Now I am!**

**(3): Oh god!**

**(4): That would suck.**

**(5): Ooooo, you in trouble~!**

**(6): Then why are you walking in, Cyber?**

**(7): Really?! **

**(8): Sure ya did, BG.**

**(9): What is this, Maximum Ride?**

**(10): What!?**

**(11): This scene reminds me of me when I'm laying on my bed, flipping channels.**

**(12): Translation: For the last flipping time, no!**

**(13): Which is gross and nasty.**

**Stay whelmed!**


End file.
